Pollution is a part of our daily lives, we hear about it everywhere, on the social medias, in the newspapers, but what actually is it? When pollution occurs, pollutants contaminate the natural surroundings, which can affect our normal lifestyles. Pollutants are usually waste materials of different forms that are key element of pollution. Pollution disturbs our ecosystems and environments and with modernization and development in our lives, pollution has reached it peak, giving rise to global warming and human illness.
There are multiple different types and causes of pollution, some bigger and more threatening than others. The most prominent and dangerous from of pollution is Air Pollution. Excessive burning of fuel, cooking, driving and other industrial activities that are necessities of our daily lives; release a huge amount of chemical substances in to the air, creating pollution.
The biggest occurrence of air pollution is smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal burning. This releases sulphur dioxide into the air making it toxic. The release of these gases into the air causes global warming and acid rain; which have increased temperatures, irregular rains and droughts worldwide; making it tough for animals to survive. We now breathe in this polluted air, which causes asthma and cancer in the lungs.
Another big type of pollution is water pollution. Almost 60% of species live in water bodies and water pollution has taken its toll on them. It occurs due to several factors; big factories think that if they dump their industrial wastes into the rivers or other bodies of water, it will wash away and be gone with, but this severely contaminates the water leading to death of aquatic species.
Oil spills in the ocean have caused irreparable damage to some water bodies. Detergents from washing clothes, utensils near lakes and rivers, blocks sunlight from penetrating, thus reducing oxygen and making it inhabitable.
Noise pollution may not be a life-threatening pollution, but it isn’t exactly good for you. Noise pollution is caused when noise that is an unpleasant sound, (e.g. machines in industries, loud music, etc) affects our ears and leads to psychological problems like stress, hypertension, hearing impairment, etc.
Radioactive pollution is highly dangerous when it occurs, but fortunately, doesn’t occur too often. It can occur due to nuclear plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste disposal, leaks and accidents, etc. This pollution causes cancer, infertility, blindness, and deformities at birth; and can sterilise soil and affect water and air.
The first casualty of increase in pollution is the environment. The increase of pollution in the atmosphere leads to smog, which can stop sunlight from reaching the earth, thus preventing plants from photosynthesising. Gases like ‘sulphur dioxide’ and ‘nitrogen oxide’ can cause acid rain, and water pollution from oil spills can lead to death of numerous wildlife species.
The pollution in the air can lead to several breathing problems including asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, congestion, throat inflammation, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease is some of the diseases that can be caused from the decrease in quality of air. Water pollution occurrence can lead to skin related problems including skin irritations and rashes.
With new industries being set up, greenhouse gases are leading to global warming. New vehicles come on roads and trees are cut to make way for new homes, leading to the increase of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the environment. The increase of CO2 leads to the melting of polar ice caps, which increases the sea level posing as a danger to people living near coastal areas.
Ozone layer is the thin shield high up in the sky that stops ultra violet rays from reaching earth. As a result of human activities, chemicals such as ‘chlorofluorocarbons’ (CFCs), were released into the atmosphere which contributed to the depletion of ozone layer. Due to constant use of insecticides and pesticides, the soil may become infertile and plants may not be able to grow properly. Various forms of chemicals produced from industrial waste is released into the flowing water which also affect the quality of the soil.
Pollution not only affects humans by destroying our respiratory and neurological systems; it also affect the nature, plants, fruits, vegetables, rivers, ponds, forests, animals, etc, on which they are highly dependant for survival. It is crucial to control pollution or our world will fall.
