AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS

RESPIRATORY AND HEART PROBLEMS

Even for healthy people, polluted air can cause respiratory irritation or breathing
difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities.
Many of us experience some kind of air pollution-related symptoms such as watery eyes,
coughing, and wheezing (high-pitched whistling sound during breathing).
Actual risk depends on current health status, pollutant type and concentration, and length
of your exposure to the polluted air.
Development of diseases such as:
Asthma
Bronchitis
Emphysema
(possibly) Cancer

CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is a long-term change in the Earth's climate, or of a region on Earth.
As well as nitrogen and oxygen, the atmosphere also contains greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse Gases - keep the earth's surface about 30 degrees C warmer than it
would otherwise be.
Water vapor (H2O)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Ozone (O3)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Greenhouse Effect - the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere
due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun
than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.
Global warming - increase in the Earth's average surface temperature due to the
rising levels of greenhouse gases.
increase in sea levels
melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs
displacement and loss of habitat

ACID RAIN
The term "acid rain" was used as long ago as 1858 to mean rain made more acidic by
acid gas pollution. A more accurate term is acid deposition.
 Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere
during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets combines with
these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground in the form of acid
rain.
Acid rain can cause great damage to human, animals and crops.

EFFECT ON WILDLIFE
Toxic chemicals present in the air can force wildlife species to move to new places and
change their habitat.
The development of toxic pollutants deposit over the surface of the water also known as
eutrophication can also affect sea animals.

DEPLETION OF OZONE LAYER

Stratospheric Ozone Layer - responsible for protecting humans from harmful ultraviolet
(UV) rays from the Sun.
Earths ozone layer is depleting due to the presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro
chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere and may:
Emit harmful rays (ultraviolet radiation) back on earth
Cause skin cancer and eye cataracts
Depress the human immune system
Harm aquatic systems and crops