What is smog? Its causes and effects

Smog is basically a combination of two words. Smoke and fog. Smog is also used to describe the type of fog that contains smoke or mascara. Smog is a yellow or black fog formed mainly from a mixture of pollutants in the atmosphere consisting of fine particles and ground ozone. Smog, which is mainly caused by air pollution, can also be described as a mixture of various gases with dust and water vapor. Smog also means cloudy air which makes it difficult to breathe.

Sources of smog include:

• Barbecue smoke
• Coal-fired power generation stations
• Construction pollution
• Smoke factories
• Gasoline and diesel powered vehicles
• Contamination of gas cutting machine
• Oil based paints, solvents and cleaners
• Pesticides
• Airborne pollution

Reasons of Smog:

Environmental pollutants or gases that create smog are released into the air when fuels are burned. Smog is formed when sunlight and its heat react with these gases and fine particles in the atmosphere. This is purely due to air pollution. A complex photochemical reaction between volatile organic compounds (VOC), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) releases ground-level ozone and fine particles into the air.

Smog is often caused by heavy traffic, high temperatures, sunshine and calm winds. These are just some of the factors behind the rising levels of air pollution. During the winter months, when the wind speed decreases, it helps to convert smoke and fog into stagnation in places where smog is formed and increases the level of pollution near the ground where people are breathing. Are It suppresses visibility and pollutes the environment.