By nightfall, the fog became so bad that visibility dropped to a few meters.
In some areas, people couldnt see their own feet.
It was like somebody had set a load of car tires on fire.
Trafalgar Square in London during the Great Smog of 1952.
Photo: TopFoto / The Image Works
The smog smothered the city for five days.
Transportation came to a virtual standstill.
Flights were grounded and trains cancelled.
Only the Underground was running.
Ambulance services were affected, leaving people to find their own way to hospitals.
The fog even seeped indoors though windows and doors.
Plays and concerts were cancelled because the audience were unable to see the stage.
Remarkably, there was no panic as Londoners were accustomed to fog.
But the death toll increased.
Most of the victims were the very young and the elderly with pre-existing respiratory problems.
Estimates of how many people died during that period vary from 6,000 to as high as 12,000.
A man rides a bike through the smog.
Photo: TopFoto / The Image Works
London has had a smog problem for centuries.
As the city expanded, the air pollution grew worse and the fog became more severe.
The East End was also low lying that prevented fog from dispersing.
Under normal condition, smoke rises up through the atmosphere and disperses.
When smoke came out of the chimneys, it got trapped under the layer of warm air.
The better-quality coals such as anthractite were exported to help pay off war debts.
The Act was a significant milestone towards the protection of the environment.
Nevertheless, smog continued to be a problem for London.
Every year, an estimated seven million people die as a direct result of air pollution.
References:#Britannica Encyclopedia#Wikipedia#MET Office UK
