The decades-old mystery of what caused a killer fog that claimed the lives of thousands of people here appears to have been solved by a team of international scientists. The Great Smog, which blanketed the British capital for five days in December 1952, is said to have killed more than 12,000 people and sent 150,000 in hospital. Thousands of animals also died.
On Dec. 5 that year, sulphur particles mixed with smoke from burning coal and made the yellow fog smell like rotten eggs. Some Londoners reported being unable to see their feet, and transportation was canceled with the exception of the London Underground. Birds flew into buildings, and robberies increased as thieves were able to make an easy getaway.
The smog eventually lifted on Dec. 9, after cold winds swept the smoke out to the North Sea. The incident eventually led to the Clean Air Act of 1956, restricting the burning of coal in London.
A team of scientists now believe they have solved the mystery of the exact cause and nature of the fog, through lab experiments and measuring the atmosphere in China, which is home to 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. “People have known that sulfate was a big contributor to the fog, and sulfuric acid particles were formed from sulfur dioxide released by coal burning for residential use and power plants,” lead author Renyi Zhang, a scientist at Texas A&M University, said in a statement. “But how sulfur dioxide was turned into sulfuric acid was unclear.” The study said that similar conditions often occur in China. He said sulfur dioxide is mainly sent out by power plants in China, while nitrogen dioxide comes from power plants and vehicles.
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