Presently, pollution is becoming a common term for the tuning of our ears. In the news we hear about the many forms of pollution reading about the dangers of pollution all over mass media as well. Air pollution is one such stronger form that identifies with the contamination of water bodies, air and other outdoor and indoor activities irrespective of its effects. The result of this pollution is a biological, chemical and physical alteration of atmospheric changes. China has been recently referred to the home of smog and haze after the country and its citizens have suffered episodes of the same in the past 5 years. In the smog and haze of China the lack of cold air coupled with slow moving air masses that carry with them industrial emission collect airborne pollutants forming a thick layer of haze and smog all over China region. One of the worst effects of the bouts of pollution in China is cutting clear visibility and causing a major disruption in daily activities and transportation (AQICN 2016). Because of too much smog and haze, schools were closer as well as highways and airports. This development will take an in depth look at what caused previous smog and haze in China and the negative effects of the same on Chinese people and the country at large.

What caused haze and smog in China

1. Burning fossil fuels- In China presently and in the past, there are many activities that revolve around burning fossil fuels like petroleum, coal among other fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels coupled with combustion from factories were the major causes of the smog and haze in China. The pollution coming from burning fossil fuels, gas emissions from cars, jeeps, airplanes and trucks caused immense amount of smog and haze in the atmosphere (International Business Times 2016). In China, most residents rely on them in fulfillment of their basic needs and transportation but what is killing the Chinese people has been the overuse of these necessities that cause dangerous gas emissions into the atmosphere. The Carbon monoxide which is a cause of incomplete or improper combustion is what propelled dangerous gases into the air causing disruption of day to day activities.
2. Agricultural activities- China is a big country full of agriculturalists who survive on in-house farming to meet their basic life needs. However, the use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides became quite a lot in China’s farming activities which contributed also to emission of harmful chemicals into the air.
3. Exhaust from industries and factories- In China, there were specific areas that were much affected because of the over representation of industries and factories in these areas. In Eastern China where Smog and haze were the order of the day during winter, this area was evidently filled with industries and factories. These factories released large amounts of hydrocarbons, organic compounds, carbon monoxide and dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere thus depleting the quality of air. During winter, lower temperatures increased the amount of smog in the air as a result of temperature inversions. Warm air would settle on top causing denser, cooler, smog-ridden air to trap temperatures at the bottom.

What were the effects of smog and haze?

The air in all over China was reported to have a strange taste of smoky, astringent and with a taste of earthy bitterness. China citizens could possibly feel dust like particles on the tongues. With the increasing amount of air pollution, China residents began complaining of health symptoms like headache and coughing. The effects of smog and haze were alarming because of the increasing reports of heart related conditions and respiratory problems that caused threat to the body (Shaghai Daily 2016). Millions of China citizens died as a result of direct or indirect consequences of smog and haze.

Movement was impossible because of the conditions on the road. For this reason, schools were closed as children were unable to find clear access to schools (Hansen et al., 2013). The government later ordered children to stay indoors and the country at large to reduce outdoor activities as much as they could. Children hospital outpatient sites increased their operations with up to 33 percent with parents having their children die from pneumonia, bronchitis and other significant infections that result from air pollution.

Environmentally, haze and smog increased the dangers of the country having acid rain because of the harmful presence of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that were released in the atmosphere during the process of burning fossil fuels (Lu et al 2010). When it would rain, the water droplets combined with the air pollutants causing the rain to become acidic and when it falls on the ground it caused greater damage to animals, crops and humans living within the boundaries of China.

China has evidently had its share in the effects of air pollution and could probably be one of the major contributors to global warming because of the many instances of air pollution in the country. With this analysis, it seems that the future of China with reference to air pollution will not be an appealing one.