Environmental Issues: Essay on Air Pollution

Air Pollution essay is a very common topic for essay writing in schools. The following essay on air pollution will help you in writing an article, speech or short paragraph on air pollution. It could also be used in giving speech on environmental issues, sources of pollution or effects of air pollution etc.

Image by Foto-Rabe from Pixabay 

Introduction

The most important elements to sustain life on earth is air and we could not imagine life on earth without it. The naturally available air is fresh, clean and healthy but with the increase in industrialization modernization and colonization, the air quality is degrading day by day. This has given birth to air pollution which is one of the worst types of pollution present on our planet.

What is Air Pollution?

The naturally occurring air is generally clean, healthy and safe but whenever certain types of substances get mixed with it, it degrades the quality of the air and leads to air pollution.

The substances which are responsible for pollution are are called as Pollutants. Some of the air pollutants are Particulate Matters (PM), gases like Carbon Monoxide,Sulphur Dioxide as well as some allergens etc. These pollutants are the main culprits of air pollution.

What are the main causes of Air Pollution?

There are various causes of air pollution and some of them are natural whereas some are man made. We will discuss both causes of air pollution in detail.

Natural Causes of Air Pollution

Natural causes of air pollution comprises of Volcanic Eruptions, Forest Fires, Natural Radioactivity etc. These causes are naturally occurring and we do not have any control over it.

Man-made Causes of Air Pollution

Man-made causes are one of the sources of air pollution which has heavily degraded the quality of air. Rapid industrialization, deforestation, urbanization, automobiles exhausts, burning of fossil fuels etc are some of the major sources of man made air pollution.

The harmful gases coming out of the chimneys of factories, exhaust of vehicles and fossil fuels have greatly added to the global issue of air pollution.

What are the effects of Air Pollution

Air Pollution not only affects the health of the living beings but it also has the harmful effects on our ecosystem and environment.

The hazardous gases like Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide irritates the airway of lungs and worsens the condition of the people suffering from any types of lung diseases.

Particulate matter (PM) are the fine particles which sometimes are not even visible to the naked eyes could cause inflammation in the airways and lead to lung diseases and asthma.

Gases like Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide coming out of the factories may undergo chemical process and lead to Acid Rain which could affect agriculture, historical monuments as well as the marine ecosystems of water bodies.

Prevention of Air Pollution

It is understood fact that human race is primarily responsible for air pollution. So if we want to prevent air pollution then it is our responsibility to control it and take certain steps to fight air pollution. Following are few steps which should be taken if we are serious in fighting air pollution:

• Reduce burning of Fossil Fuels.
• Switch to alternate energy sources like Solar or Wind energy.
• Reduce the usage of vehicles.
• Use of Public Transport and Car pool
• Walking or Cycling for short distances.
• Planting more and more trees.
• Tuning your car engine on a regular basis.
• Switching to Eco-Friendly vehicles.
• Conserving energy and reducing its wastage.
• Creating strict norms for factories to reduce air pollution.

Conclusion:

Air Pollution has become one of the most talked issues of the world. United Nations and other organizations have also started working for prevention of air pollution. Various steps are being taken by the environmentalists and many awareness programs have also been conducted on a regular basis to control air pollution.

It is our prime responsibility that we should unite together and fight for the cause. If we become reluctant to save our Mother Nature then it would be impossible for us to survive long on our planet. Hence, if we want to give a better environment, better air and better ecosystem to our future generation then we should collectively fight against air pollution and make our planet a better place to live in.