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NASA

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Air pollution happens when solid and liquid particles-called aerosols -and certain gases end up in our air. These particles and gases can be bad for the planet and for our health, so keeping track of them is important.

Where do aerosols come from?

Any particle that gets picked up into the air or is formed from chemical reactions in the air can be an aerosol. Many aerosols enter the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels-such as coal and petroleum-and wood. These particles can come from many sources, including car exhaust, factories and even wildfires. Some of the particles and gases come directly from these sources, but others form through chemical reactions in the air.

Aerosols can come from other places, too, such as ash from an erupting volcano. Dust, pollen from plants and mold spores are also examples of aerosols.

What else causes air pollution?

Certain gases in the atmosphere can cause air pollution. For example, in cities, a gas called ozone is a major cause of air pollution. Ozone is also a greenhouse gas that can be both good and bad for our environment. It all depends where it is in Earth's atmosphere.

Ozone high up in our atmosphere is a good thing. It helps block harmful energy from the Sun, called radiation. But, when ozone is closer to the ground, it can be really bad for our health. Ground level ozone is created when sunlight reacts with certain chemicals that come from sources of burning fossil fuels, such as factories or car exhaust.

When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog. Smog is a type of air pollution that looks like smoky fog and makes it difficult to see.

How does air pollution affect Earth's climate?

Aerosols can impact how the Sun's light hits Earth. For example, some aerosols reflect sunlight while others absorb sunlight. It depends on the color of the particle.

Dark surfaces-whether it's a black t-shirt or a dark particle in the atmosphere-absorb the Sun's heat. Lighter-colored surfaces reflect heat from the Sun.

A white t-shirt reflects the Sun on a hot day, making you feel cooler. In the same way, light-colored particles that reflect the Sun's light and heat away from Earth can make the global temperature cooler. Dark-colored particles that absorb the Sun's light can make the global temperature warmer.

How does air pollution affect our health?

Breathing in polluted air can be very bad for our health. Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with diseases of the heart and lungs, cancers and other health problems. That's why it's important for us to monitor air pollution.

How is NASA monitoring air pollution?

NASA uses satellites orbiting Earth to keep an eye on air pollution. In fact, air quality forecasters use information about aerosols from NASA's Aqua, Terra and Suomi-NPP satellites.

NASA also is developing a new instrument called the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols, or MAIA, to fly aboard a future spacecraft mission. MAIA will help scientists understand the size, makeup and quantity of aerosols in our air. Eventually, scientists will be able to compare this information with health records. This can help us better understand the relationship between aerosol pollution and human health.

Related NASA Missions

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Air pollution is caused by solid or liquid particles and certain gases suspended in the air. These particles and gases can come from car and truck exhaust, factories, dust, pollen, mold spores, volcanoes and wildfires.

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When humans and animals breathe, we give off an odorless gas called carbon dioxide, or CO ₂. Plants use this gas, along with sunlight, to make food-and oxygen too! This process is called photosynthesis. However, large amounts of CO ₂ are produced when cars and power plants burn coal, oil, and gasoline. This is bad because CO ₂ is the most important contributor to human-caused global warming.

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When humans and animals breathe, we give off an odorless gas called carbon dioxide, or CO 2. Plants use this gas, along with sunlight, to make food-and oxygen too! This process is called photosynthesis. However, large amounts of CO 2 are produced when cars and power plants burn coal, oil, and gasoline.

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Kids learn about air pollution and how it effects the environment and health. Study causes, pollutants, and facts including acid rain and smog.

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Air pollution is a type of environmental pollution that affects the air and is usually caused by smoke or other harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulphur, and nitrogen.

Many of the world's large cities today have polluted air or low air quality.

Even 2,000 years ago, the Romans were complaining about the polluted air in their cities. At that time, the air was thick with smoke from fires and the smell of sewers. Air pollution has been classified as a danger to human health and Earth's many ecosystems for a long time.

Air quality

Pollution can be in the form of a gas, liquid, or solid. It can also be classified chemically, such as oxides, hydrocarbons, acids, or other kinds of chemicals.

Many pollutants go into the air from natural sources. These pollutants include dust, sea salt, volcanic ash and gases, smoke from forest fires, pollen, and many other materials.

Primary and secondary pollutants

Air pollution is usually described as either a primary pollutant or a secondary pollutant. Primary pollutants are pollutants that are put directly into the air by humans or natural sources. Examples of primary pollutants are exhaust fumes ( gas) from cars, soot from smoke, dust storms, and ash from volcanic eruptions (as seen in the picture on the left).

Secondary pollutants are pollutants that are made from chemical reactions when pollutants mix with other primary pollutants or natural materials like water vapor. Many secondary pollutants are made when a primary pollutant reacts with sunlight. Ozone and smog are secondary pollutants. Ozone is a gas that stops harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. When it is near the ground, though, it can poison people and other organisms.

Human-made air pollution comes from many things. Most air pollution made by humans today is because of transportation. Automobiles, for instance, make up about 60% of human-made air pollution. The gases inside car exhaust, like nitrogen oxide, make smog and acid rain.

Farmlands and forests sometimes burn in wildfires, producing soot (a black powder made mainly of carbon and produced when coal, grasses, wood, etc. is burned) from the smoke. Soot can affect people and other life forms.

Industrial air pollution

Many industrial power plants burn fossil fuels to get their energy. However, burning fossil fuels can make a lot of oxides ( chemical compounds that have oxygen and other elements inside). The burning of fossil fuels makes 96% of the sulfur oxides in the atmosphere. Some industries also make chemicals that make poisonous fumes (smoke).

Indoor air pollution

Air pollution does not only happen outside. The insides of homes, schools, and buildings can also have air pollution. Sometimes the air inside a building, especially if its windows are closed, is even worse than the air outside. Many things that humans use every day can pollute the air. Compounds inside carpets, paints, building materials, and furniture also pollute the air, especially when they are new.

Acid precipitation

Acid precipitation is precipitation, like rain, sleet, or snow, that contains acids from air pollution. When fossil fuels are burned, they let out oxides into the air. When these oxides mix with water in the atmosphere, they make acid, which falls as precipitation. Acid precipitation can kill living things like fish and trees by making the place where they live too acidic. Acid rain can also damage buildings made of limestone and concrete.

A worldwide concern is the hole in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The Earth's ozone layer protects life from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, but in the 1970s, scientists found out that some chemicals let out into the atmosphere makes the ozone turn into oxygen. This lets more ultraviolet rays reach the Earth. During the 1980s, scientists found that the ozone layer above the South Pole had thinned by 50 to 98%.

Human health

On March 17, 1992, in Mexico City, all children under the age of 14 were not allowed to go to school because of air pollution. This does not happen often, but being exposed to air pollution every day can cause people to have many health problems. Children, elderly (old) people, and people with allergies can develop health problems because of air pollution. Studies from the University of Birmingham showed that air pollution from motor vehicles could be the cause of some pneumonia-related deaths.

The World Health Organization said that 2.4 million people died because of problems that air pollution causes. Some of the problems include:

Agricultural effects

India published a report in 2014 that showed that air pollution in 2010 had cut the amount of crops harvested by almost half in the most affected areas when compared to 1980 levels. Sometimes, crops can produce better when air quality improves.

Interesting facts about air pollution

Air pollution is caused by human and natural contributors. Industries, mining, factories, vehicles, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and wind erosion can all cause air pollution.

92% of the world's population live in areas in which air pollution is higher than safe limits.

Inhaling air pollution is thought to take away 1-2 years of an average human life.

Babies whose mothers live in high-traffic areas have a 22% higher risk of being born with poor lung function than those whose mothers live in less polluted areas.

Air pollution is more dangerous for children because of their smaller size and lung capacity.

The IQ of children can be negatively affected by air pollution.

ADHD can worsen or be caused by Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

Waiting in traffic and breathing in the air pollution is thought to increase a person's chance of death due to a heart attack.

The 1952 Great Smog of London is said to have killed 8,000 people.

Scientists have guessed that by 2050, six million people per year will die as a result of air pollution.

Larger cities control the amount of emissions allowed from vehicles to help reduce air pollution and protect the public.

Deforestation is a major cause of air pollution.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Contaminación atmosférica para niños

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Planet Health Report: AIR

AIR:
What does carbon dioxide "parts per million" mean? And why is it important?

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Too much carbon dioxide in the air makes Earth get warmer and warmer. When humans burn fossil fuels, like gasoline and coal, carbon dioxide is produced.

This number tells how many parts of carbon dioxide there are in one million parts of air. So, if carbon dioxide is at 412 parts per million (or ppm), that means in one million particles of air there are 412 particles of carbon dioxide.

We need to keep a close watch on this number. Carbon dioxide levels have gone sky-high in the past 100 years. Many scientists think that 350 ppm is a much healthier number and that we should try to reduce our use of fossil fuels to get that number back.

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Planet Health Report: AIR Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas . Too much carbon dioxide in the air makes Earth get warmer and warmer. When humans burn fossil fuels, like gasoline and coal, carbon dioxide is produced. This number tells how many parts of carbon dioxide there are in one million parts of air.

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Naomi, Improving Air Quality With Her Research

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Naomi, Improving Air Quality With Her Research

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Naomi, Improving Air Quality With Her Research - Citizen Kid by Disney

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From the time she was in sixth grade, scientist and #CitizenKid Naomi has been researching indoor air quality.

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Climate Justice and Air Pollution in Illinois

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Climate Justice and Air Pollution in Illinois

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Climate Justice and Air Pollution in Illinois | Youth & Climate

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Ted-Ed

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Is smog an issue in the city where you live? What exactly is it like to live in an area prone to long time periods where citizens are exposed to smog? Read this article: Here are some of the world's worst cities for air quality. To find out the cities with the most air pollution issues, click here and here. This American Chemical Society article: In the Fog about Smog: Solving the Smog Puzzle on Earth and from Space describes how smog is being studied from space and discusses the formation of smog and what comprises it! Finally, China's toxic smog from BBC News shows actual footage and descriptions from people living in smog ridden areas. This multimedia presentation also provides interviews and first person account of how it is to live in a polluted city on a daily basis: Beijing's smog: A tale of two cities.

There are methods being designed that may help cities fighting smog to decrease the impact of this nuisance on its citizens. Visit this link to see a new air mask design from Swedish entrepreneurs. Decreasing worldwide dependence on coal can also help stop smog formation. Here is a recent article on that topic. How difficult will it be to cut coal out of the energy equation? What measures has China taken to decrease smog? This article: China Bans Cars As Air Pollution Hits Red-Alert Status may provide some ideas. National Geographic also has this recent article: China's Surprising Solutions to Clear Killer Air.

What exactly is a temperature inversion and how does it form? The science behind temperature inversions is a great resource describing how smog and other types of air pollution can become trapped due to lack of vertical mixing of atmospheric layers. Where do these inversions commonly form?

Health problems associated with smog can be both acute and chronic. This article describes issues that arise when exposed to smog on a frequent basis. Tehran smog blamed for hundreds of deaths is another article that discusses the hazards of smog exposure. With Every Breath : Health Effects Of Smog addresses California's SMOG problems and the health effects on people living in the area. Does exposure to smog affect the nervous system? Read: Smog in our brains and find out more. Visit the Center for Disease Control for more information about particulates, air pollution and exposure to high tropospheric ozone levels.

Studying historic smog events could give us great insight into how to prevent future ones. Learn more about the Smog Almost Killed New York City, Here's How! Here is a photo-essay of SMOG through the years in Los Angeles. London, England also has had some serious and deadly bouts with SMOG. One was the Great Smog of 1952. Read more about it here: Scientists finally know what caused a mysterious fog to kill 12,000 people in London in 1952.

People all over the world are looking for ways to reduce smog. This TED Talk discusses one idea.

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On July 26, 1943, Los Angeles was blanketed by a thick gas that stung people's eyes and blocked out the Sun. Panicked residents believed their city had been attacked using chemical warfare. But the cloud wasn't an act of war. It was smog. So what is this thick gray haze actually made of?

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Air Pollution | What Causes Air Pollution? | The Dr Binocs Show | Kids Learning Videos|Peekaboo Kidz

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Dr. Jen Ashton gives advice as New York faces poor air quality

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Dr. Jen Ashton gives advice as New York faces poor air quality

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Dr. Jen Ashton gives advice as New York faces poor air quality

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What’s in the air you breathe? - Amy Hrdina and Jesse Kroll

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How walls of moss could help reduce urban air pollution

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How walls of moss could help reduce urban air pollution

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How walls of moss could help reduce urban air pollution - BBC News

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National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day

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National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day

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National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day