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"Environmental Impacts of Air Pollution" by Ryan Lee


Air pollution is made up of chemicals or particles in the air that can harm human health, animals, and plants. Most air pollution is caused by humans and occurs as emissions from factories, vehicles, aircraft, or aerosol cans. Smoke from other people's cigarettes is likewise regarded as air pollution.



Most people associate air pollution with vehicle exhaust or smoke from large plants. However, there are numerous varieties of indoor air pollution. One example is burning fuels like kerosene, wood, or coal to heat a home can taint the air inside the home. Ash and smoke can attach to food, clothing, and walls, making breathing difficult.


Exposure to air pollution has a wide range of adverse health impacts on people. Short-term effects and long-term effects are two categories of effects.


Temporary short-term consequences include conditions like pneumonia or bronchitis. They also include discomforts like rashes on the skin, eyes, nose, or throat. Headaches, lightheadedness, and nausea are among the symptoms of air pollution. Air pollution also includes offensive odors produced by factories, landfills, or sewage systems. Although less harmful, these scents are nonetheless unpleasant.


Air pollution's long-term impacts can persist for several years or a person's entire lifetime. They might even result in someone's demise. Heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory conditions like emphysema are some long-term health repercussions of air pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution can also harm a person's nerves, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs. Some scientists think that birth abnormalities are caused by air pollution. Every year, the impacts of indoor or outdoor air pollution claim the lives of up to 2.5 million people globally.


The consequences of air pollution can affect entire ecosystems, just like they can on people, animals, and plants. Particles from air pollution eventually land on Earth. The soil and water surface can be directly harmed by air pollution. This may result in crop death or decreased output. Young trees and other plants can also die from it. When airborne sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles combine with atmospheric water and oxygen, they can produce acid rain. The primary sources of these air pollutants are cars and coal-fired power plants. Acid rain harms plants by altering the soil composition, deteriorates the water quality in rivers, lakes, and streams, destroy crops, and can speed up the deterioration of structures such as monuments and buildings.


Anyone can make improvements to lower air pollution. Millions of people accomplish this daily by making minor adjustments to their lives. You can lessen air pollution by using bicycles or public transportation instead of driving a car, which emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Others include refraining from using aerosol cans, recycling yard waste rather than burning it and quitting smoking.

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