Smog formation (localized effect of air pollution)

Main idea-

The main damage done to the planet by polluting the air is through the emission of large
amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from various industries, automobiles,
power plants, and even agricultural practices. However, a part of these emissions is other
gases and particulate matter which causes a much more direct problem- smog. While global
warming affects the entire planet relatively slowly, smog causes deadly problems at a
smaller level in a much more noticeable way.

Mechanism of smog formation-

Various “secondary pollutants” such as ozone are formed near the surface of the earth even
though they aren’t emitted directly from polluting activities. In the presence of sunlight and
other pollutants, this causes the formation of extremely hazardous photochemical smog.

History and harm caused-

A brief overview of how different cities have been affected due to smog formation in the past
and the polluting factors responsible for that.

Reasons for concern-

A major reason for concern is that many secondary pollutants are still emitted by
automobiles around the world. Smog can easily form in warm weather in a modern city with
a huge amount of traffic on its roads. Areas near agricultural regions are also prone to smog
formation due to practices like stubble burning(This has actually been happening for the past
few years where I live, near New Delhi, and I have myself fallen sick due to the pollution.)

Sources(crude initial list)-

● https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Ground_level_ozone
● https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Secondary_pollutant
● https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/the-killer-london-s
mog-event-of-december-1952-a-reminder-of-deadly-smog-events-in-us/2012/12/19/4
52c66bc-498e-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_blog.html
● https://time.com/6061/delhis-air-has-become-a-lethal-hazard-and-nobody-seems-to-k
now-what-to-do-about-it/
● https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/02/15/how-crop-burning-affects-delhis-air-po
llution/
● G. C. Tiao, G. E. P. Box & W. J. Hamming (1975) Analysis of Los Angeles
Photochemical Smog Data: A Statistical Overview, Journal of the Air Pollution
Control Association, 25:3, 260-268, DOI: ​10.1080/00022470.1975.10470082
● https://www.npr.org/transcripts/101694787
● https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed035p310