Impacts of Atmospheric Pollution

• Smog:

  • Irritation of eyes and throat
  • Respiratory diseases, like asthma
  • Fine particles are carried into the lungs, leading to lung cancer, strokes and heart attacks
  • Breathing difficulties
  • ability of plants to make and store food through photosynthesis is reduced
  • growth, reproduction and general health of plants decline, making them more prone to disease and pests
• Acid rain

  • Acidification of groundwater, making the water undrinkable;
  • It can cause diarrhoea and stomach upset if the water is consumed;
  • Aluminium leached from the soil to groundwater can be linked with pre-senile dementia
  • Acidification of groundwater damages tree roots
  • Crop yields decline;
  • Nutrients like calcium are leached out of the soil
  • Fish die as acidity levels increase;
  • Limestone buildings are chemically weathered
  • Trees affected as foliage dies
  • Aquaotic and animal life in lakes is poisoned and decreases as acidity levels increase
• Ozone depletion

  • Higher levels of ultraviolet radiation cause sunburn, skin cancers, retina damage and cataracts;
  • Extra ultraviolet radiation limits the reproduction of phytoplankton, affecting the entire food web as they make up the lowest layer of some food webs
  • Changes in the biochemical composition of some plant leaves make them less attractive as food
  • Supression of immune system
  • Melting ice sheets, glaciers and permafrost can laed to a rise in sea-levels
• Climate Change (1)

  • Melting of ice sheets, glaciers and permafrost causes a rise in sea levels;
  • Damage to low-lying countries from flooding e.g. Bangladesh from flooding would be disruptive with financial costs
  • Forced migration as people lose their homes and farmland from rising sea levels;
  • Warmer weather may mean farmers grow different crops and have longer growing seasons - increased droughts could lead to desertification and famine
  • Loss of biodiversity, habitat or extinction if animals and plants can’t adapt;
• Climate Change (2)

  • Sea-level rise leads to the loss of coastal land and increased erosion.
  • Negative impacts on certain economic activities
  • Animal and plant species would not be able to adapt fast enough to the changes, leading to loss of biodiversity, habitat or extinction
  • More severe storms and droughts
  • Changes to fishing industries if fish species move to different waters
  • Ecosystem change could mean plant and animal species move into new areas and new (invasive) species emerge
  • Warmer temperatures could allow diseases such as malaria to srpead