Question

XIII Write an essay on any one of the following: 37. a) Covid-19

b) Air Pollution

c) Samveda E-classes​

Answer 1

Air pollution is a type of environmental pollution that affects the air and is usually caused by smoke or other harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, sulphur and nitrogen. In other words, air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence or introduction of a substance which has a poisonous effect.

Indoor air pollution

Air pollution is not only on the outside. Homes, schools, and buildings can also have air pollution. Sometimes the air inside a building is even worse than the air outside.[1] Many things which humans use every day can pollute the air. Compounds inside carpets, paints, building materials and furniture also pollute the air, especially when they are new.

In buildings where the windows are tightly shut to stop air leaks, the air inside can be polluted more than the air outside.[1]

Acid precipitation

Acid precipitation is precipitation, like rain, sleet, or snow, that contains acids from air pollution. When fossil fuels are burned, they let out oxides into the air. When these oxides mix with water in the atmosphere, they make acid, which fall as precipitation.[1] Acid precipitation can kill living things like fish and trees, by making the place where they live too acidic. Acid rain can also damage buildings made of limestone and concrete.

Ozone hole

A global concern is the hole in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The Earth's ozone layer protects life from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, but in the 1970s, scientists found out that some chemicals let out into the atmosphere makes the ozone turn into oxygen. This lets more ultraviolet rays reach the Earth. During the 1980s, scientists found that the ozone layer above the South Pole had thinned by 50 to 98%.