Notes

The 1952 London smog disaster

In 1952 The London fog came through and brought heavy fog that lasted until March of 1953.

It happened Light winds and a high moisture content created ideal conditions for smog formation, caused additional coal combustion and many people travelled only by car, which caused the occurrence of a combination of black soot, sticky particles of tar and gaseous Sulphur dioxide. This resulted in the heaviest winter smog episode known to men.
Most people travel by car and it made the conditions worse.
It affected the environment caused Measurements suggested that the concentration of particulate matter in the air had reached 56 times its normal level. Sulphur dioxide concentrations increased to seven times its peak level. The smoke particles trapped in the fog gave it a yellow-black color. Sulphur dioxide reacted with substances in foggy droplets to form sulphuric acid, adding an intense form of acid rain to the process.
The smog episode killed approximately 12.000 people, mainly children, elderly people and people suffering from chronic respiratory or cardiac disease. The number of deaths during the smog disaster was three or four times that on a normal day. They could be attributed to lung disease, tuberculosis and heart failure. Mortality from bronchitis and pneumonia increased more than sevenfold.
The London smog disaster resulted in the introduction of the first Clean Air Acts in 1956.