When we talk about exposure, we are referring to those that are immediately affected by the pollution. These include, animals, plants, and human beings.
The immediate effects of air pollution are hard to ignore. Watery eyes, coughing and difficulty breathing are acute and common reactions. An estimated 92% of the world’s population live in areas with dangerous level of air pollution and even at seemingly imperceptible levels, air pollution can increase one’s risk of cardiovascular and premature death.
Air pollution is almost as deadly as tobacco. In 2016, it was linked to the deaths of 6.1 million people according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Exposure to high levels of air pollution during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriages as well as premature birth, autism spectrum disorder and asthma in children. Air pollution may damage children’s brain development and pneumonia, which kills almost 1 million children under the age of five every year. Children who breathe in higher levels of pollutants also face a greater risk of short-term respiratory infections and lung damage.
Other conditions associated with high levels of air pollution include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as lung cancer. Pollutants can affect cardiovascular health by hardening the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack and strokes, and there is even emerging evidence that air pollution may be linked to mental health conditions and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Schizophrenia.
Prevention itself is a cure. Therefore, it is best to prevent oneself from polluted areas as soon as possible.
EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION ON AGRICULTURE.
There is a saying that, if the last tree dies the last man will also die. Therefore, as individuals, what do we do to protect our fundamental source of living. We get all our needs from agriculture/ plants. These include oxygen, shelter, food, cloth, and other things we find convenience in.
Air pollution has been the most dangerous threat to humanity. It goes further than what we usually perceive. Having thought of examples such as smokes from cigarettes, smokes from burning bushes, smokes from moving trucks, smokes from factories, and many other forms. One might wonder how these forms affect agriculture negatively.
Agriculture was responsible for 94% of NH3 emissions. The reduction in emissions within the agricultural sector is primarily due to air pollution. For more than a century, air pollution has affected agriculture. Burning coal and petroleum produce sulphur oxides, fluorides result from smelting, and glass and ceramic manufacturers all contribute to air pollution – damaging agriculture.
According to experts, widespread pollutants (including sulphur dioxide, fluorides, ammonia, chlorine and particulate matter) consist primarily of oxidants. Ozone, the major component of oxidants, is produced in the atmosphere during a complex reaction involving nitrogen oxides of automobile exhausts and fossil fuel burning. As the process proceeds only in sunlight, it is called a photo-chemical reaction leading to injury on crops. According to the Word Web advanced dictionary, a photochemical reaction is a chemical reaction produced by the action of light.
Crops can be injured when exposed to a high concentration of various air pollutants. Injury ranges from visible markings on the crop (leaves), to reduced growth and yield, to premature death.
by:Tettey Margaret Amorkor
by:Tettey Margaret Amorkor
Acknowledgement;
· World Health Organisation
· Anna Almendrala, The Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health; no one can escape dangers (January 2018)
· University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, 2016
· Anthony Geber (National Jewish Health in Denver, Plumologist: 2008)
Word Web Advanced Dictionary 