Effects of Air Pollution

The ozone layer is a protective shield located in the stratosphere, about 48 kilometres above the Earth's surface. It plays a crucial role in protecting all living things on Earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays (UV-B). However, human activities are causing this layer to deplete.

Causes of Ozone Layer Depletion:

The release of pollutants like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and other ozone-depleting substances into the atmosphere leads to the thinning of the ozone layer. This allows more UV-B radiation to reach the Earth's surface, harming plants, animals, and even humans.

The greenhouse effect is a natural process where certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide (CO₂), trap heat from the Sun. This keeps the Earth warm enough for life. However, due to increased human activities such as industrialisation, the amount of CO₂ has been rising rapidly over the past century.

Greenhouse Gases:

Apart from CO₂, gases like methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs also trap heat. These are known as greenhouse gases. As their levels increase, the Earth's temperature rises, causing global warming.

Greenhouse effect

Effects of Global Warming:

Global warming leads to various environmental changes, such as melting icebergs and glaciers, rising sea levels, and altered weather patterns. It disrupts agricultural yields, affecting food supply, and causes shifts in the distribution of wild animals as they struggle to adapt to changing habitats.

When fossil fuels like coal, timber, and oil are burnt, they release sulphur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. These harmful gases mix with moisture in the air and form acids, such as sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and nitrous acid. When it rains, these acids come down with the raindrops, creating what is known as acid rain.

Acid Rain

Impact of Acid Rain:

Acid rain damages plant leaves and leaches essential nutrients from the soil, weakening trees and plants. It also acidifies water bodies like lakes and rivers, harming aquatic life. Fish and other water organisms may die due to the lowered pH of the water, disrupting the entire aquatic ecosystem.

1. The acidity of soil and water bodies increases due to acid rain, harming aquatic organisms, plants, and entire forest life. Total ecosystems are adversely affected.
2. Erosion of buildings, busts, historical monuments, bridges, metal idols, wire fences, etc. occurs due to acid rain.
3. Heavy metals like mercury and cadmium are absorbed by plants and thereby enter the food chain indirectly due to acid rain.
4. Due to the acidification of water in water bodies and pipes, leaching of metal and plastic materials occurs in water, leading to serious health problems.