The Air that we Breathe

The air of cities has been polluted for thousands of years. ¹ Early concerns about air quality in urban areas stemmed from the use of wood and coal as fuels, both industrial and domestic. During the years of the Industrial Revolution smoke pollution was considered a necessary part of progress. Air quality in cities tended to be worse in winter months when cold stagnating anticyclonic conditions trapped air and resulted in a build-up of smoke and associated pollutants, especially sulphur dioxide. Combined with fog, this resulted in the infamous ‘pea-souper’ smogs of London, where visibility was frequently drastically reduced. It was not until the 1950s, however, when a particularly severe smog resulted in 4,000 excess deaths in London, that an important Act was passed by Parliament to force the clean-up of urban air.