Airpocalypse Now: What was the Great London Smog of 1952? Can it happen to Delhi?
Airpocalypse Now: What was the Great London Smog of 1952? Can it happen to Delhi?
New Delhi has been waking up to a thick envelope of smog for quite a few days now. The AQI has dipped to the ‘severe’ category, with most Delhiites gasping for air.
Something like this, but more severe, happened 70 years ago too, not in Delhi but in London. The incident that has been etched into the memories of many Londoners is called ‘The Great London Smog of 1952.’
At the time, smog was something that London residents had become accustomed to and many called it ‘pea-soupers’. But the five days of the Great London Smog, between 5 December and 9 December 1952, was unusual and deadly.
The smog claimed the lives of so many people that London’s population got heavily affected. On the cold wintery morning of 5 December, London witnessed its worst smog that possessed a especially dense and smoky character.
So, what happened in the Great Smog of 1952? Is Delhi inching towards a similar incident? We take a look.
History of the Great London Smog
London’s history of poor air quality goes back to the 13th century. However, things came to a head with the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
During this time, London became the hub of factories and production units which in turn gave a rise to coal burning which was required to keep these factories up and running. This is when the air of London started deteriorating which finally culminated in the Great Smog of 1952.
Various shots of taken during the ‘Great Smog of London’ in 1952.
Photos by Monty Fresco pic.twitter.com/ixmrB47vwD— YourWullie (@YourWullie) August 30, 2020
An increase in domestic hearth and factories slowly led to a surge in toxic emissions. In the 1900s, with the Industrial Revolution heralding a new age in London, smog conditions lasted up to a whole week. The five days of the Great Smog were an unprecedented severity as compared to previous conditions.
Normally, when people burnt coal to keep themselves warm during winters in London, smoke would rise up and finally dispersed in the atmosphere. But in December 1952, an anticyclone loomed over the region, trapping the toxic air and pushing it downwards. This in turn resulted in a meteorological phenomenon called temperature inversion, where cool air is trapped at the ground under a layer of warm air.
Hence, the inversion of 1952 trapped toxic particles and gases emitted from factories along with pollution that flowed into London from the east.
According to Breeze Technologies, rampant air pollution, lack of proper legislation to tackle smog and temperature inversion were what made the smog so severe that it lasted for five days.
According to Met Office, during the Great Smog, 1,000 tonnes of smoke particles, 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 140 tonnes of hydrochloric acid and 14 tonnes of fluorine compounds were emitted into the air. As if these pollutants weren’t enough, 370 tonnes of sulphur dioxide were converted into 800 tonnes of sulphuric acid during this period.
The impact
The Great Smog of London was responsible for the death of as many as 4,000 people and many suffered severe respiratory problems.
According to the National Archives, UK, the Chief Medical Statistician stated at the time that “The incident was a catastrophe of the first magnitude in which, for a few days, death rates attained a level that has only been exceeded on rare occasions during the past hundred years as for example at the height of the cholera epidemic of 1854 and of the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919.”
Also read: FP Analysis: Why parali or stubble burning has choked Delhi-NCR only in the past decade?
A smog so strong and toxic, that some pedestrians were unable to see their own feet. Modes of transportation like flights, boats and trains were stopped from functioning and many car owners left their vehicles on the streets. Events were cancelled due to low visibility. The incidence of crimes like looting, burglaries and purse snatchings increased as the thick smog gave criminals the perfect opportunity to vanish.
The smog didn’t spear even animals. An archival report showed that a number of cattle that had been brought to the Smithfield Show at Earl’s Court in West London from 8 to 12 December, suffered from acute respiratory symptoms, with around 160 of them needing veterinary attention and 12 being slaughtered as a result.
The response
After suffering a huge blow in terms of death rate and a slowed-down economy, the government introduced the Clean Air Act in 1956 to avoid a repeat of the situation.
The Act prohibited the emission of dark smoke from a chimney of any building and from any new furnaces to be smokeless as far as practicable. It also laid out the requirement to install a device that measures and records smoke density from a building with a furnace or boiler, as technology permitted.
The Great Smog Of London 1952 pic.twitter.com/LnJ5r2vRE3
— (@BLVCKSEASLUG) May 16, 2021
Smoke emissions that created a nuisance to inhabitants became a punishable offence under the Act.
An article from the Pharmaceutical Journal from November 1953 also showed that the Minister of Health also enacted a new regulation to prescribe face masks to those patients suffering from pre-existing heart or respiratory problems.
What’s happening in Delhi?
On Thursday (3 November) the air quality in Delhi plunged to ‘severe’ and according to India Today, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 9:50 am stood at 418. On Wednesday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 375 (‘very poor’ category) which was an improvement from Tuesday’s AQI of 424 (‘severe’ category).
The Arvind Kejriwal government has urged people to work from home in a bid to bring down vehicular pollution. Environment Minister Gopal Rai has also suggested office goers to use carpool.
Pollution के ख़िलाफ़ लड़ाई में दिल्लीवालों से निवेदन:
Construction Work की तस्वीर Green Delhi App पर भेजें
Car-bike Sharing करें
Red Light On, Gaadi Off लागू नहीं तो Work From Home करें
Coal-लकड़ी मत जलायें
♂️Security Guards को Electric Heater दें–@AapKaGopalRai pic.twitter.com/5C1ySV6r4S
— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) November 2, 2022
As per data released by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Noida slipped into an AQI of 393 and Gurugram’s AQI stood at 318.
While the AQI near Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3) also stood in the ‘Very Poor’ category. On Wednesday, the AQI in the area was recorded at 350. With air pollution worsening in the national capital, Delhi authorities halted all construction work and demolition activities till further orders.
The Great Smog 2.0?
Delhi’s pollution and subsequently smog problem is not new.
In 2016, experts claimed that while levels of sulphur dioxide were in control at the time, other parameters like the volume of particulates mimicked the situation of the infamous London smog episode.
Also read: Breathless in Delhi: Why do farmers burn stubble and can it be stopped?
Similarly, in 2017, the then-director of All India Institute of Medical Science Randeep Guleria compared the alarming pollution scenario in Delhi with London’s 1952 crisis. Environment experts echoed the views of Dr Guleria and said if serious steps are not taken to curb pollution, Delhi may soon face a similar kind of “air pollution disaster” which London did.
Environment expert CR Babu told IANS, “In London, smog killed because people faced breathing problems. But the toxins in Delhi’s air could lead to long-term problems and chronic health disorders, and not just short-term health issues.”
With inputs from agencies
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