WHAT CAUSES AIR POLLUTION?

Air pollution is caused by solid and liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. These
particles and gases can come from car and truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mold spores, volcanoes and
wildfires. The solid and liquid particles suspended in our air are called aerosols.

Air pollution happens when solid and liquid particles—called aerosols—and certain gases end up in our air.
These particles and gases can be bad for the planet and for our health, so keeping track of them is important.

WHERE DO AEROSOLS COME FROM?

Any particle that gets picked up into the air or is formed from chemical reactions in the air can be an aerosol.
Many aerosols enter the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels—such as coal and petroleum—and wood.
These particles can come from many sources, including car exhaust, factories and even wildfires. Some of the
particles and gases come directly from these sources, but others form through chemical reactions in the air.

Aerosols can come from other places, too, such as ash from an erupting volcano. Dust, pollen from plants and
mold spores are also examples of aerosols.

WHAT ELSE CAUSES AIR POLLUTION?

Certain gases in the atmosphere can cause air pollution. For example, in cities, a gas called ozone is a major
cause of air pollution. Ozone is also a greenhouse gas that can be both good and bad for our environment. It all
depends where it is in Earth’s atmosphere

Ozone high up in our atmosphere is a good thing. It helps block harmful energy from the Sun, called radiation.
But, when ozone is closer to the ground, it can be really bad for our health. Ground level ozone is created when
sunlight reacts with certain chemicals that come from sources of burning fossil fuels, such as factories or car
exhaust.

When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog. Smog is a type of air pollution that looks like
smoky fog and makes it difficult to see.

Smog is a type of air pollution in cities that makes it difficult to see outside. Here are images of Beijing on a clear day after a
rain (left) and on a smoggy day (right).
HOW DOES AIR POLLUTION AFFECT EARTH’S CLIMATE?
Aerosols can impact how the Sun’s light hits Earth. For example, some aerosols reflect sunlight while others
absorb sunlight. It depends on the colour of the particle.

Dark surfaces—whether it’s a black t-shirt or a dark particle in the atmosphere—absorb the Sun's heat. Lighter-
coloured surfaces reflect heat from the Sun.

A white t-shirt reflects the Sun on a hot day, making you feel cooler. In the same way, light-coloured particles
that reflect the Sun’s light and heat away from Earth can make the global temperature cooler. Dark-coloured
particles that absorb the Sun’s light can make the global temperature warmer.

HOW DOES AIR POLLUTION AFFECT OUR HEALTH?

Breathing in polluted air can be very bad for our health. Long-term exposure to air pollution has been
associated with diseases of the heart and lungs, cancers and other health problems. That’s why it’s important
for us to monitor air pollution.

HOW IS NASA MONITORING AIR POLLUTION?

NASA uses satellites orbiting Earth to keep an eye on air pollution. In fact, air quality forecasters use
information about aerosols from NASA’s Aqua, Terra and Suomi-NPP satellites.

NASA also is developing a new instrument called the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols, or MAIA, to fly aboard a
future spacecraft mission. MAIA will help scientists understand the size, makeup and quantity of aerosols in our
air. Eventually, scientists will be able to compare this information with health records. This can help us better
understand the relationship between aerosol pollution and human health.

 AIR POLLUTION FACTS FOR KIDS

Air pollution is the pollution of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen.
Many of the world's large cities today have bad air quality. Even 2,000 years ago, the Romans were complaining
about the bad air in their cities. At that time, the air was thick with smoke from fires and the smell of sewers.
Air pollution has been a danger to human health and Earth's many ecosystems for a long time.

Air quality

It has many pollutants (things that pollute the air) from natural sources. These pollutants include dust,
sea salt, volcanic ashes and gases, smoke from forest fires, pollen, and many other materials. In fact, there are
many more natural pollutants than pollutants that humans make. However, humans have adapted to most of
these natural pollutants. Air pollution may be personal, occupational or community air pollution. Air pollution
is usually described as either primary pollutants or secondary pollutants.
 Primary pollutants are pollutants that are put directly into the air by humans or natural sources.
Examples of primary pollutants are exhaust fumes (gas) from cars, soot from smoke, dust storms and ash
from volcanic eruptions (as seen in the picture on the left).

Secondary pollutants are pollutants that are made from chemical reactions when pollutants mix with
other primary pollutants or natural substances like water vapor. Many secondary pollutants are made when a
primary pollutant reacts with sunlight. Ozone and smog are secondary pollutants. Ozone is a gas that stops
harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. When it is near the ground, though, it can poison people and other
organisms.

Ash from volcanic eruptions (Mount St. Helens)

is an example of primary pollutants
 

TYPES OF MAN-MADE AIR POLLUTION

Human-made air pollution comes from many things. Most air pollution made by humans today is because
of transportation. Cars, for instance, make about 60% of the human-made air pollution. The gases inside car
exhaust, like nitrogen oxide, make smog and acid rain. Human-made air pollution is also caused when humans
set their farmlands or forest on wildfires producing soot ( a black powder composed mainly of carbon,
produced when coal, grasses, wood etc. is burned ) from smoke, that can affect people and other living when
exposed to the atmosphere.

Industrial air pollution

Many industrial power plants burn fossil fuels to get their energy. However, burning fossil fuels can make a lot
of oxides (chemical compounds that have oxygen and other elements inside). In fact, the burning of fossil fuels
makes 96% of the sulfur oxides in the atmosphere. Some industries also make chemicals that make poisonous
fumes (smoke).

Indoor air pollution

Air pollution is not only on the outside. Homes, schools, and buildings can also have air pollution. Sometimes
the air inside a building is even worse than the air outside. Many things which humans use every day can
pollute the air. Compounds inside carpets, paints, building materials and furniture also pollute the air,
especially when they are new. In buildings where the windows are tightly shut to stop air leaks, the air inside
can be polluted more than the air outside.
Acid precipitation

Acid precipitation is precipitation, like rain, sleet, or snow, that contains acids from air pollution. When fossil
fuels are burned, they let out oxides into the air. When these oxides mix with water in the atmosphere, they
make acid, which fall as precipitation. Acid precipitation can kill living things like fish and trees, by making the
place where they live too acidic. Acid rain can also damage buildings made of limestone and concrete.

There are many problems caused by air pollution,

like greenhouse effect and acid rain

Ozone hole
A global concern is the greenhouse gases and the hole in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The Earth's ozone
layer protects life from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, but in the 1970s, scientists found out that
some chemicals let out into the atmosphere makes the ozone turn into oxygen. This lets more ultraviolet rays
reach the Earth. During the 1980s, scientists found that the ozone layer above the South Pole had thinned by
50 to 98 percent.

HUMAN HEALTH
On March 17, 1992, in Mexico City, all children under the age of 14 could not go to school because of air
pollution. This does not often happen but being exposed to air pollution every day can make people have many
health problems. Children, elderly (old) people, and people with allergies especially, can have a lot of problems
because of air pollution. Studies from the University of Birmingham showed that deaths because
of pneumonia and air pollution from motor vehicles like cars are related.
The World Health Organization said that 2.4 million people died because of the direct problems of air pollution.
Some of the problems include:

 Dizziness
 Headaches
 Burning, scratchy eyes
 Runny nose
 Coughing and hard breathing
 Lung cancer and lung diseases
 Sore throat
 Chest pains, colds, and allergies

AGRICULTURAL EFFECTS
In India in 2014, it was reported that air pollution had cut crop yields in the most affected areas by almost half
in 2010 when compared to 1980 levels. There can also be increased yield of crops due to some air quality
conditions.