Submerged Lands

It is evident that cities and any other location where there is huge release of exhaust and industrial fumes and other air pollutants are vulnerable to smog. There are some seasons that favor smog more. Smog is fiercer during hot weather than in the period of colder weather. During hot weather the upper air will be so warm such that it will make it impossible for vertical circulation of these pollutants to take place. The pollutants hover for some period of time over these cities.

Smog is not only caused by vehicle exhaust fumes or other industrial emissions, there are also some natural occurrences that can give rise smog. Volcanic eruption for instance can release huge amount of sulphur dioxide and also particulate matter. These two elements are also instrumental to the formation of smog. When smog is formed as a result of volcanic eruption, it is referred to as vog. The term is used specifically to differentiate the naturally caused smog from man induced smog.

Some studies on the distribution of smog have also revealed that plants can also help in the distribution of smog through their radiocarbon content. Typical example of this is Creosote bush found in Los Angeles. It has been discovered that the bush enhances the distribution of smog even more than the combustion of fossil fuel.

The question then is: has smog any effect on health to spark off such concern nowadays? Definitely, the answer to the above question is yes. There are some dangerous health issues that are associated with smog. People with heart and lung disease can be affected by smog. It has been discovered that greenhouse gases like nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, ground-level ozone and sulphur dioxide can enhance heart and lung disease. Senior citizens and children are also affected by these gases.

These gases can cause decrease in the functionality of the lung, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing due to pain, coughing. This is one of the downsides of the greenhouse gases like ozone which protects us from the scorching heat of the sun. Up there in the atmosphere, ozone can be helpful to man but ground level ozone can also lead to burning eyes and noses and other respiratory problem that are associated with smog when it is trapped close to the ground level in situations of heat inversion.

Smog can lead to untimely death in some cases especially when people who are suffering such respiratory problems like asthma are exposed to it.

Besides the above mention people, those who are involved in some outdoor exercise are vulnerable to smog effect. This is because during exercise the rate at which we breathe increases and this exposes the lung to ground-level ozone. Children are also vulnerable to smog especially during summer. This is because, the play more outside during summer and this time favors smog.