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5 Air pollution
Air pollution is the presence of certain substances in the air in high enough
concentrations and for long enough durations to cause undesirable effects. In
reality, air is never perfectly clean.
Air pollutants
Air pollutants are airborne particles and gases that occur in concentrations
that endanger the health and well-being of organisms or disrupt the orderly
functioning of the environment. Pollutants can be grouped into two
categories:
• Primary pollutants, which are emitted directly from identifiable sources.
• Secondary pollutants, which are produced in the atmosphere when certain
chemical reactions take place among primary pollutants.
The major primary pollutants include, particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, and
lead. Atmospheric sulfuric acid is one example of a secondary pollutant. Air
pollution in urban and industrial areas is often called smog. Photochemical
smog, a noxious mixture of gases and particles, is produced when strong
sunlight triggers photochemical reactions in the atmosphere. A major
component of photochemical smog is ozone.
Accumulation of trace gases in the air from human activities traps heat from
the sun and makes the atmosphere warmer than normal.
Greenhouse gases are necessary to life as we know it, because they keep the
planet's surface warmer than it otherwise would be. But, as the concentrations
of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the Earth's temperature
is climbing above past levels. According to NOAA and NASA data, the
Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 1.2 to 1.4ºF in the
last 100 years.
If greenhouse gases continue to increase, climate models predict that the
average temperature at the Earth's surface could increase from 3.2 to 7.2ºF
above 1990 levels by the end of this century. Scientists are certain that human
activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere, and that increasing
the concentration of greenhouse gases will change the planet's climate. But
they are not sure by how much it will change, at what rate it will change, or
what the exact effects will be.