Air Pollution Essay Collection for Students

On Jun 3, 2022

Air Pollution: Causes, Effects, Solutions – Essay 1.

The whole world has been suffering from lots of problems since its existence, and the problems are getting bigger and bigger day by days.

One of the biggest problems that the entire planet faces is the amount of pollution on the planet. Pollution is of several kinds, but the pollution that affects the most to our nature and environment is Air pollution.

Air pollution is the pollution in which the pollutants get released in the air, and those pollutants then pollute the air which affects the health of a human being.

Meaning

Air pollution is the pollution when the dirt, dirt particles and other kinds of pollutants get mixed to air and make the air polluted.

Today, every city in the world is suffering from air pollution, and that is why a lot of people and organizations in the world are trying their best to save the world from air pollution.

Air Pollution in India

Indian cities are much polluted and that can get seen from various visuals. Land and air pollution are connected directly as if the land is dirty, after a few days, that dirty land will lead to air pollution. In India, there are only a few surfaces where the pollution level is less. For example, the pollution level in Chandigarh city is lesser than a lot of cities in India. However, the pollution level in various cities of NCR, UP and Bihar is way higher than a lot of cities in India. The air pollution in India is getting increased day by day. But, the good news is that the people who had no interest in cleaning their country before, are now getting involved in schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, etc.

Causes

There are lots of causes of air pollution in the world and here are a few of those causes:

The burning of fossil fuels is the biggest cause of air pollution, and that is why it has been prohibited at a lot of places in the world.
Cars, buses, motorbikes are another big cause of air pollution because they emit a lot of pollution also.
Volcano eruptions are another big cause of air pollution.
When we cook at home, sometimes we need wood and charcoal for it, and these materials cause a huge amount of air pollution.
People smoking cigarettes is another big cause of air pollution.
If due to some reason a forest catches fire, then it becomes one of the biggest reasons for air pollution.

Effects

These are a few effects on human beings, plants, and animals due to air pollution:

The rainwater flows through the surface and ends in the river, and when the surface gets polluted, all the rainwater will take the polluted surface particles with itself which will not only pollute the river, but it will also pollute the land through which the water flows.
A lot of people suffer from allergies which are a side effect of living in an air-polluted
Air pollution can also lead to severe diseases like cancer, heart diseases, and other respiratory problems, etc.

Solutions

One should restrict the use of charcoal, wood, thus the pollution caused by these resources would not be there in the world.
A restriction should be there on industries to use the kind of materials which causes zero to no air pollution at all.
The cities which have the maximum air pollution should get asked as to how they will reduce the air pollution and what are their plans for it.

Conclusion

Air pollution is a huge problem not only in India but the whole world, various organizations do their bit to make sure that plans are made to restrict air pollution, but unfortunately those plans never get executed rightly. That is why even after knowing that the air is getting polluted every day, the organizations around the world are unable to provide a good solution to it. As a human being, we must contribute, that is why, we need to gather and make sure that all the places, suffering from air pollution, should get organized in a manner so that air pollution should not exist. Everyone should participate in schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which will not only reduce the air pollution in the country but will also reduce various other kinds of pollution.

Causes and Effects of Air Pollution – Essay 2.

Air pollution refers to the release of harmful substances like gas and solid particles into the atmosphere. When these pollutants are released into the atmosphere, it makes the air harmful for plants, animals and human beings.

Causes of air pollution

One of the major causes of air pollution is vehicle emissions. These cars use fuel that combusts to release harmful gases to the atmosphere.

Air pollution is also caused by deforestation. Trees are important as they help clean the air since they intake carbon dioxide and release oxygen. When they are cut down, more carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere.

Volcanic activities also cause air pollution. When this natural process occurs, harmful gases like Sulfur and Chlorine are released and hence polluting the air in that area.

When wild fires occur, they also cause air pollution. This is because when the vegetation burns down, carbon dioxide and other contaminants are released into the air.

The major cause of air pollution is industry and plant emissions. Industries partake in processes that result in emission of harmful gases into the air.

Air pollution is also caused by wind and air currents. Wind causes the harmful pollutants to be spread all over a wide area.

Agricultural activities are also harmful to the atmosphere. When farmers use pesticides and chemicals when farming, the fumes from these products are released into the air causing pollution.

Air pollution is also caused by smoking habits. When people smoke tobacco and other products, the smoke fumes released act as pollutants to the atmosphere.

Another cause of air pollution is smelting of metals. When metals are smelted they release some particles that remain suspended in the air making the air harmful.

Radioactivity also causes air pollution. This is a natural process where rocks decay and hence release harmful gases and particles into the atmosphere.

Effects of air pollution

The major effect of air pollution is respiratory problems. Some of the respiratory diseases that occur as a result of breathing polluted air include asthma and other breathing complications.

Air pollution also causes heart problems. Some cardiac conditions can be as a result of breathing in harmful particles and gases from the air.

Air pollution leads to the formation of acid rain. When gases like Sulfur combine with water vapor in the atmosphere, acid rain is formed.

Air pollution also causes the destruction of buildings. Buildings mostly darken as a result of harmful gases in the air which forces many people to repaint their buildings after some time.

Another effect of air pollution is ground level ozone. When air pollutants are released into the atmosphere, they cause the formation of a poisonous gas called ozone (O3) that is harmful to human, animal and plant life.

Eutrophication also occurs as result of air pollution. This is where rain causes the deposit of nitrogen in the atmosphere into water bodies. Algae then grow as result and this causes the plants and animals in the water bodies to die.

Air pollutions leads to the death of marine life. When acid rain is formed, it leads to acidification of water bodies which is harmful to aquatic life.

The soil structure is also affected by pollution. When acid rain penetrates through the soil, some nutrients in the soil die and this may affect soil fertility.

Air pollution also is attributed to the rising cases of lung cancer. When someone is constantly exposed to harmful particles present in the atmosphere, they are at a high risk of getting lung cancer.

Air pollution also causes negative economic effects. This is because productivity is reduced and the quality of life decreases.

Conclusion

The effects of air pollution are very dire especially when it comes to human, animals and plant life. It is therefore important for individuals to reduce the amount of pollutants that they release into the atmosphere to make sure that life is maintained and that the environment is protected.

Causes and Effects of Air Pollution – Essay 3

Air pollution is the contamination of the air that we breathe. When impure and harmful substances are released in the atmospheric air, the air becomes unhealthy .

Air becomes impure and unhealthy when it contains pollutants. Air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulfur, CFCs, smog, etc., get mixed with the air. Polluted air is unhealthy and causes severe ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, and stress.

Causes

1. Rapid pace of Motorization: Motors and vehicles runs on energy. For producing the energy, motor vehicles rely on oils such as petroleum. These vehicles emit massive quantity of toxic gases carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, greenhouse gases and particulate matters. All these gases causes the air to pollute.

2. Large scale factories: The demand for factory made goods have increased manifold times during the last century. The energy needs for running these factories primarily comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, diesel, and natural gases. They release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide besides metal particles.

3. Using woods as cooking fuel: In underdeveloped countries, particularly in rural areas, wood is used as fuel for cooking food. Smoke comes out of burning wood and get mixed with the air. These smoke contains particulate matters and poisonous gases such as hydrocarbons, benzene, and formaldehyde. The unburned portion of wood contains carbon monoxide.

4. Urbanization: The world is moving from villages to urban cities. Since, these large cities are densely populated, there is a constant surge in demand for industrial products. Many of the urban cities and industrial areas are not far away from each other. The quality of air near industries is low.

5. Ultra mega thermal power plants: The ultra mega thermal power plants generally burns coal or natural gases. The emit massive amount of greenhouse gases and pollutes the air.

6. Agricultural pesticides: The spraying of agricultural pesticides causes air pollution. The agricultural chemicals and pesticides gets settled on the ground. These pesticides then evaporates and mixes with air. This air gets contaminated. Such polluted air is not good for human and animal health.

7. Metal processing: Metal processing involves various processes such as smelting, casting, hammering, cutting, rubbing, etc. Tiny metal particles mixes with the air and makes it unhealthy.

8. Natural causes: Natural causes for air pollution includes wind erosion, volcanic eruptions, natural reactions, evaporation of natural chemicals, etc.

Effect

1. Health Problems: Air pollution causes respiratory, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cardio-vascular diseases, hypertension, and other health problems. Black carbon, a form of pure carbon, produced due to the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels is among the most fatal air pollutants.

2. Modern smog: The two common forms of fog includes sulfuric smog and photo-chemical smog.

Sulfuric smog: The particulate matter in the air combines with sulfur oxides and causes sulfurous fog. This mainly happens during foggy climate in industrial regions.
Photo-chemical fog: The combustion engine of motor vehicles produces nitrogen oxides. The photo-chemical reaction between nitrogen oxide gas, hydrocarbons, and sunlight produces ozone – a toxic gas. The smog is called photo-chemical smog.

Besides health issues, these smogs form thick layers like clouds and cloudy reduces the visibility.

3. Global warming and climate change: The air pollutants such as greenhouse gases traps the solar heat. And, as a result, the earth becomes warmer – a phenomenon is called global warming. The surge in earth’s temperature disrupts the climatic patterns.

4. Acidification of agricultural land: Polluted air contains many toxic chemicals. These chemicals often mixes with clouds and fall on agricultural lands as acid rains. The soil becomes acidic and the fertility decreases. Further, when air pollutants react with each other and produces ozone near the ground level, the air quality is deteriorated.

Air Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Control Measures – Short Essay 4.

Air Pollution is an issue facing many of the big cities across the world that needs to be dealt with urgently.

Air pollution causes a lot of diseases and brings down the quality of life. When the air around us is foul enough to be declared unfit for breathing, it is time to take drastic measure.

A few cities have found themselves in this situation in the past few years, where they had to be shut down due to pollution.

Causes – How does air get polluted?

Causes of air pollution includes:

The vehicular emissions of carbon dioxide are on the increase with the number of vehicles that hit the road and the bad quality of fuel used.
People burn fires in the open which releases carbon dioxide.
Factories release gasses from their chimneys that directly merge with the air.
Air transport is also a major contributor to air

Effects of air pollution

Severe lung issues in adults and sometimes newly born kids.
A regular cough and cold or even asthma symptoms in humans.
Air Pollution also result in acid rain that destroys agricultural produce
It also leads to ozone layer depletion and expose us to a lot of harmful rays from the sun
Increase in the cases of lung cancer in people

Control Measures – How to control air pollution?

Vehicles must use good quality fuel.
Fires must not be burned in the open.
If more people used public transport or pooled transport, then the number of private vehicles on the road would go down, bringing down the emission levels.
Factories releasing pollutants must be persuaded to have some filtration plant or equipment set up.
If the vehicles and factories continue to violate pollution related rules, they may be fined to ensure compliance.
More trees can be planted, and further deforestation stopped to keep the air purified as the pollutants are absorbed and pure air released from the trees.

Conclusion

In short, air pollution is a severe threat to humanity, and we need to take immediate steps to curb it. Some of the simple ways of reducing air pollution are to switch to public transports or carpools for your daily commutes to work. A reduction in the usage of fireworks and crackers can also make a big difference. Taking these small steps in our everyday lives can bring down the overall pollution levels in the country and help you live a healthy life.

Air Pollution – Short Essay 5.

Our earth is surrounded by a thick layer of air. The air is a part of the earth and we live in an ocean of air. The air is a mixture of some gases like nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), carbon dioxide (0.03%) and other inert gases. It also contains water vapor. When the air is polluted by harmful contaminants, it is called air pollution.

Presently the air is being polluted in many ways. Several greenhouse gases are found in air. Burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation and the release of hazardous pollution from vehicles are the prime sources of air pollutants.

Air pollution leads to difficulty in breathing. Any decrease in the percentage of oxygen in the air disrupts the respiratory system of living organisms. People suffer from diseases such as asthma because of air pollution. Even the health of animals gets negatively effected because of air pollution.

The presence of contaminated substances negatively affect the ecosystem. Air is the medium for locomotion of birds and other flying animals. It also helps in the dispersal of seeds, fruits, pollen and spores for propagation and reproduction of certain plants.

The pollutants present in the wind influences the environment and have an effect on weather and climate. Besides, it also causes soil erosion.

The solution to the problem of Air Pollution lies in putting seal on its causes. Fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, diesel, kerosene, etc., should be burnt cautiously. More emphasis should be given on using alternate sources of energy that emit less pollutants.

Indoor air pollution can be tackled to some extent by using an air purifier. People can use masks to mitigate the harms from outdoor air pollution. More trees can be planted and new forests can be developed.

What is Air Pollution and What are the various types of Air Pollutants? – 6

The meaning of air pollution.

To pollute means to make dirty. So, air pollution is anything which contaminates the air. When it originally came into English, from the Latin word for ‘to contaminate’, the word ‘pollute’ had connotations of moral contamination and sin. It was not until the 19th century that the word ‘pollute’ would come to specifically mean ‘contaminating the environment’, and it is no coincidence that this coincided with the Industrial Revolution, when the increasing numbers of factories began polluting the air with soot, smoke, and fumes.

What counts as air pollution may depend on the context. The air that we breathe needs to have a certain minimum safety level so that we do not get sick, and this means not exceeding certain levels of polluting gases. However, in other contexts, more stringent tests will need to be applied: if we are treating a hospital patient with pure oxygen, for example, that oxygen must not be contaminated with other gases that are currently found in the air – even though this mixture would be safe to breathe in the outside world.

Now that we know what air pollution is, this article will explain the key types of air pollution.

Types of air pollutants.

As we explore this list of the key types of air pollutants, it will quickly become apparent that the vast majority of air pollutants on the planet is caused by human beings. And, just as we are the ones who cause air pollution, we are also the ones who should act right now to halt it in its tracks – and hopefully reverse its damaging effects.

1. Greenhouse gases: sulphides and nitrous oxides are very harmful pollutants which are produced in a variety of ways. The plastic manufacturing industry, the shipping industry, and factories that burn fossil fuels are all key sources of greenhouse gases. These gases form a thick layer in the atmosphere which traps the sun’s rays. They are called greenhouse gases because this layer acts like the glass of a greenhouse, building up heat inside the earth’s atmosphere and causing catastrophic climate change caused by the overall warming of the earth and sea.

2. Soot: this pollutant is a carbon based, black substance. You will see it in your household chimney, and it is produced in large amounts by exhausts and chimneys in vehicles, boats, factories, and various kinds of industrial chimneys. The polluting nature of soot is partly visual: it forms a thick black layer on everything it touches which can be hard to clean off. But, when it enters the human lungs or touches the delicate membranes of the nose, mouth, and eyes, it can also cause irritation and (in severe cases) respiratory illnesses.

3. Carbon dioxide: this pollutant is produced when fossil fuels are burned. It can cause respiratory illnesses including lung cancer and bronchitis. Carbon dioxide also contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming. There are currently tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere as a result of human manufacturing, and the shipping and aviation industries (to name but a few causes) and this is causing the earth’s temperatures to rise at an alarming rate.

4. Acidic compounds: sulphur, hydrogen, and nitrogen gases in the air can mix with rain and turn the rain acidic. This is the phenomenon known as ‘acid rain’ and it can dissolve the stone in buildings (sadly, for instance, its effects have been seen in the Taj Mahal), poison rivers and lakes, and kill plant, fish, and animal life.

5. CFCs: these are very dangerous substances which were found in most aerosols prior to the 1970s and 1980s. CFCs were causing a dramatically large hole in the ozone layer to appear, and this was increasing the amount of radiation from the sun that was reaching earth, harming human bodies and causing droughts and scorching temperatures. When CFCs were banned over the following decade or so, the hole in the ozone layer began noticeably to repair itself. The story of CFCs is thus ultimately a positive one as it demonstrates how when human beings realise the ways in which they are polluting the air and take concrete steps to stop pollution at its source, the damaging effects of air pollution can start to reverse themselves.

6. Smog: smog is a type of visual as well as health based pollution. It is a mixture of everyday fog with ozone, nitrous and sulphuric compounds, and sooty smoke. It often occurs in big cities – and the smog in London is famously known as a pea souper. Smog makes it hard to see even a short way in front of you, so it pollutes the air visually as well as being filled with compounds that are dangerous both to the environment and to human health. In a way, smog shows us the extent of pollution in a very immediate form: CFCs and acidic compounds in the air can be pretty much invisible until we see their effects on the environment. When a city suffers from smog, this usually means that it is very polluted, and there are more, invisible, types of pollution in the air over and above the thick discoloured smog which we can actually see.

Conclusion.

Air pollution is a serious problem. It harms the environment worldwide and also damages human health. As we can see, human activity is the main cause of air pollution, which also means that humans are able to stop polluting the air.