December 5, 1952- A day that no Brits can ever clear off from their memories. The day which is remembered as one of the deadliest days in the history of Britain. It was on this day, the country capital witnessed one of the deadliest smog ever, named as “The Great Smog of 1952” or “the Big Smoke”
A severe air-pollution event broke out in London on December 5, 1952, killing thousands of people and animals, further making it difficult for the people to breathe. Though, despite the fact Londoners are accustomed to foggy weather, but this one was rare, denser and lasted for almost four days.
The exact reason for the deadly smog engulfing London remained unknown for a long time. However, recently, an international team of researchers has claimed to have solved the mystery. The reason is said to be a combination of natural fog with coal burning creating the killing deadly acidic haze that transformed the sky completely dark and killed almost 12000 people.
Today, after almost 64 years, it can be said that pages are turning back for Britain. As a dense trail of toxic winter smog is expected to blanket Britain. Severe weather warnings have been issued by the Met Department against poisonous smog engulfing the country.
In fact, motorists have been cautioned to take extra precautions against fog while driving on roads as deadly driving conditions due to smog has been forecasted for the next day as well.
Thick fog sufficient to reduce the visibility to 100 meters can be expected over parts of the country, claims the Met Department.
Moreover, a plume of pollution is also forecast over the next 24 hours across the country to northern Europe along with the ‘radiation fog’ which might fall harshly on people having respiratory issues or any other health conditions, especially asthma. Hence, people suffering from ill-health issues are warned to take extra care.
Prev’Air, the French air quality monitoring service has warned that the air particulate matter, produced in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and France are mainly responsible for the smog hitting Britain in the evening.
The warning is that the levels are expected to reach between 48 and 64 micrograms per meter cubed. This is high enough to cause respiratory issues in defenseless people.
Though this dense fog is expected to last from Monday evening until Tuesday, it is expected that by Tuesday afternoon, much of the skies will be cleared off.
Image Credit: Huffington post uk