Smog facts for kids

For other uses, see Smog (disambiguation).

Claude Monet's painting of 19th century London smog. It was caused mainly by burning coal fires

Smog is a type of air pollutant; the word "smog" is a combination of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area and is caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide.

It is a big problem today in Beijing, and in many other cities. London is where it first happened, but coal fires are now illegal in London. In cities like Los Angeles it is the exhaust fumes of cars which cause the smog.

Delhi is supposed to be the most polluted city on Earth. Smogs cause lung diseases and increase the death rate. According to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people in Delhi every year.

Images for kids

Highland Park Optimist Club wearing smog-gas masks at banquet, Los Angeles, circa 1954
During the autumn and winter months, some 500 million tons of crop residue are burnt, and winds blow from India's north and northwest towards east. This aerial view shows India's annual crop burning, resulting in smoke and air pollution over Delhi and adjoining areas.
Dense smog blankets Connaught Place, New Delhi.
Situated in a valley, and relying heavily on automobiles, Mexico City often suffers from poor air quality.
Photochemical smog over Mexico City. December 2010.
A road close to historical Badshahi mosque while dense smog engulf the neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016
Smog in New York City as viewed from the World Trade Center in 1988
Characteristic coloration for smog in California in the beige cloud bank behind the Golden Gate Bridge. The brown coloration is due to the NOx in the photochemical smog.
Beijing air on a day after rain (left) and a smoggy day (right)
Victorian London was notorious for its thick smogs, or "pea-soupers", a fact that is often recreated (as here) to add an air of mystery to a period costume drama
A NASA astronaut photograph of a smog layer over central New York.
View of smog south from Los Angeles City Hall, September 2011.
Counties in the United States where one or more National Ambient Air Quality Standards are not met, as of October 2015.
Singapore's Downtown Core on 7 October 2006, when it was affected by forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia
Smog in São Paulo, Brazil