Air Pollution in the United Kingdom Many of the world’s largest and most industrialized countries are in Europe. Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, and Amsterdam are just a few. These cities tend to have a lot of factories, lots of traffic, and produce a lot of air pollution. In the past, the major source of air pollution was burning coal in factories, today the main cause of air pollution is factories (which now burn fuels like natural gas, coal, oil) as well as car and bus emissions. The country with the worst air pollution in Europe is the United Kingdom (UK).

London is the capital of the UK and is famous for its air pollution. The word “Smog” was first used in 1905 to describe air in London (thick fog + smoke). In the Great Smog of 1952, Smog was so dense that, for 4 days, people in London could not see what was right in front of them. Transportation slowed, crime increased, and thousands of people died from the pollution. People around the world became frightened and worried about the quality of the air they were breathing.

There are many harmful effects of air pollution. Asthma and pneumonia are linked to vehicle emissions. Air pollution also blackens buildings and harms wildlife. In Western Europe, nations are trying to lessen pollution. They are spending money and researching new ways to produce power that cause less environmental damage. In eastern Europe, few nations are researching these new technologies because they have less money.

Acid Rain in Germany Air pollution leads to health problems and can affect the environment through acid

rain. Acid rain is a result of air pollution. Over the past 30 years, acid rain has been damaging Germany. When any type of fuel is burnt, a lot of different chemicals are produced and released into the air. These chemicals mix with water in the clouds and come down as rain. The rain that

falls has weak levels of acid mixed in. It’s not acidic enough to burn your skin, but it is very harmful for the environment.

The main source of acid rain is smoke from factories. Germany is a top manufacturing country and leads the world in cars, steel and chemical products. The economy depends on these factories. Cars and busses also produce harmful gases.

Acid rain has many damaging effects on the environment. Acid rain harms soil, kills trees, pollutes rives, harms wildlife and even erodes buildings and sculptures! Acid rain has even led to the destruction of nearly half of the trees in the Black Forest. This has really harmed Germany’s economy because one of its major natural resources is timber.

In order to resolve its acid rain problem, in Germany power plants that use water power are replacing many coal-burning factories. Also they are developing new types of energy, such as wind turbines and solar power. Finally, Germany’s government has passed laws to reduce emissions from cars and factories.

Environmental Issues in EuropeAir pollution in

the United Acid Rain in

GermanyNuclear Disaster

in Chernobyl,

Kingdom Ukraine

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