What Is The Meaning Of Air Pollution?

According to dictionary.com, the meaning of air pollution is "chemicals or bio material in the atmosphere that harm or discomfort life or damage the environment."

There are two ways to look at the air pollution around us and also assess whether something is in fact air pollution. Air pollution should either present a threat to human health or adding to greenhouse gasses which are the gasses that harm the atmosphere and create holes in the ozone layer.

There are different types of air pollution, some of which are natural bi products of non harmful processes and others can come from methods of using the earth and its resources in a way that can become harmful and produce air pollution.

Some of the gasses that we class as air pollution are;

• Sulphur Oxides

These are produced naturally, mainly by volcanic activity and once the sulphur oxide in in the atmosphere, it can produce acid rain.

• Nitrogen Oxides

These are the result of high temperature combustion and nitrogen oxides are usually found as smog over large cities where this combustion takes place.

• Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless chemical and is also highly dangerous to human life and the environment around us. It comes from incomplete combustion and is usually exhorted into the atmosphere by vehicles.

• Carbon Dioxide

This is a more natural greenhouse gas and is produced when carbon is burned around the planet. This causes ocean acidification and can be extremely harmful to our atmosphere.

• Methane
  

Methane is used in multiple products but also produced naturally by animals and plants. This is extremely damaging to the ozone layer and is the biggest cause of holes in the atmosphere.

There are also many other things that can cause air pollution that we may not even think as being harmful to the atmosphere. Some of these are lead, copper, ammonia, odors, dust, fumes.

It refers to bad air quality in respect of its breathable level.