On 5th December 2017, 65 years since the lethal great smog of London, an initiative is being launched between Delhi, the city with among the world's worst air quality, and London, to remember the victims of air pollution and promote ideas and action to clear the air.
Clear the air a tale of two cities tells the stories and hopes of people living parallel lives in London and Delhi for whom air pollution is inescapable. It includes people who work on the street in both cities, those who drive taxis, are runners, work professionally to tackle air pollution, and those who live with its health consequences. The choice of two such very different cities makes the point that air pollution is a critical human and climate crisis the world over, and is still a major problem in London even 65 years after its Great Smog.
Over 4000 people are thought to have died in the 1952 smog, but:
By 5th December, 8,700 people in London will have died prematurely in 2017 due to major air pollutants, with more than one person an hour dying before their time.
Globally premature deaths linked to air pollution are estimated to be more than 12 per minute, or about one every 5 seconds.
New action is needed to tackle this issue. There are more details of what's required here. In between Brexit and other issues let's remember there is a world out there that needs urgent care and loving attention.
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I think it’s important to reflect occasionally on what air quality, sanitation and absolute poverty used to be like, and how we tackled them.
Some great vintage photos of London in that link; thanks for sharing
I was not quite there. At the end of December 1952, over the New Year, I was at the Central Hall, Westminster for a conference. Although staying out at Putney in a hostel, we were in Westminster most of the time. It still stank and after only a couple or so days all the clothes stank. Mater was very displeased, washing materials were a rather more costly items those days. Today’s petro-chemical smogs, however, are possibly worse. The really bad stuff is all that deodorant men are persuaded to use.
Give me deodorant
I live with teenagers
I fear that we are doing more harm today with microparticulate pollution than we ever did with the visible smoke of coal-burning London in 1952.