Impacts of Atmospheric Pollution

    Cards (5)

    • 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