There are two major types of smog; Industrial and photochemical smog. Both pose a threat to the health of humans, the environment and other living things. Today, I will focus on photochemical smog.

Today the majority of the smog we see is photochemical. It is formed when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides, which are chemical compounds made of different combinations of nitrogen and oxygen, and at lease one volatile organic compound or VOC. A VOC is gas released from a solid or liquid that has potential to cause harm to people and the atmosphere. To sum up the formation process, nitrogen oxides and a VOC react to sunlight and become smog. An example of this process is when you drive a car. Nitrogen oxides are released from the exhaust while VOCs are released from the gasoline, then when sunlight hits these chemicals it forms airborne particles, thus creating smog.

Smog has many negative impacts on human, plant, and animal health and the environment. One way in which it effects human health is through the respiratory system. A mild effect would just be slight trouble of breathing and coughing but those symptoms would be gone within days. However, the effect could get so bad as to reduce lung function and trigger asthma, therefore potentially permanently damaging the health of a person. Besides the serious health effects smog may produce, it also creates a gross brown and grey tint to the sky harming the beauty of the planet. This is especially true in big cities like New York city or Hong Kong.

China has tried to reduce their smog through implemented programs. These programs include installation of equipment to remove harmful matter, replacing coal with natural gas, and expansion of clean energy vehicles. By following these programs, slowly change will be able to be seen in China.

Resources

“China: Fighting Air Pollution and Climate Change through Clean Energy Financing.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/results/2020/06/21/china-fighting-air-pollution-and-climate-change-through-clean-energy-financing#:~:text=Reduce%20air%20pollution%20emissions%20through,and%20expanding%20clean%20energy%20vehicles.