Effects of air pollution

• Human health
• Animals
• Plants
• Material
• Stratosphere
• Environment

Impact on plants

• Reduced plant growth
• Damage to leaves of crops plant
• Susceptible to disease, pest, Frost

Impact on materials

• Cars
• Homes
• Monument, sites

Impact on health

• By VOCs, suspended particles
• Lung cancer
• Headache, dizziness
• Respiratory diseases
  • Asthma – By SO2, smoking
  • Bronchitis – NO2
  • Influenza, cold- NO2

Effect on human health

• Irritation of eye, nose and throat.
• In severe cases, there may be headache, nausea and loss of coordination and concentration.
• It lowers our resistance to cold and pneumonia.
• CO has affinity towards hemoglobin which cause disturbance in
  • transportation of oxygen
  • impairing our concentration
  • slow our reflexes
  • make us confused and sleepy
  • feel suffocation.
• SO2 in the air lead to disease of lung and other lung disorders such as wheezing and shortness of breath.
• Chronic respiratory disease- lung cancer, heart disease, damage to the brain liver or kidney.
• Effect of arsenic, Asbestos, Mercury and Benzene can cause mutation, reproduction problems or even cancer.

Effects on plant

• Pollutant enters through stomata.
• Pollutant Erode waxy coating of the leaves called cuticle
  • Cuticle prevent excessive water loss and damage from disease pest, drought and Frost.
• Destroy chlorophyll
• Affect photosynthesis
• Damage of leaf structure causes :-
  1. Necrosis – damage to leaf structure.
  2. Chlorosis- loss /reduction of chlorophyll causing yellowing of leaves.
  3. Abscission – Dropping of leave.
  4. Epinasty – Downward curling of leaves.
  5. Death of plants.

Effect on aquatic life

• Precipitation in the form of acid rain cause high acidity in freshwater lake.
• Acid rain affect aquatic life especially fish.
• Some of freshwater lake have experienced total fish death.

Effect on material

• Due to corrosiveness, particulates can cause damage to exposed surfaces.
• Ozone causes crackling of rubber.
• SO2 and water form H2S – corrosion as well as disfigurement of Statue made up of limestone or marble.
• Oxides of Nitrogen can cause fading of cotton and Rayon fibres.

Effect on environment

• Visibility
• Pollutants in the presence of Sunlight produce photochemical smog.
• Emission of greenhouse gases tends to global warming.
• Chlorofluorocarbons carbons also cause Ozone layer depletion.

The phenomenon of trapping and reradiating heat by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is referred to Greenhouse effect.

• Natural greenhouse effect keep Earth warm .
• Global mean temperature of earth is + 15 degree Celsius.
• Water vapour, CO2, H2O, CH4, ozone and cfcs present in minute quantities but maintain the temperature of Earth.
• In the absence of greenhouse gases, the temperature of earth would be much lower than – 20 degree Celsius.

Enhanced greenhouse effect means global warming.