The Great Smog of London
Morbid Curiosity 4
The Great Smog of London, a tragic event that spanned over five days in December of 1952, killing thousands of Londoners and leaving more seriously ill. The heavy fog was caused by water vapour sticking to particles released by coal-burning factories, spreading heavy, dark clouds that lingered in the streets as residents tried to carry on their lives. London was brought to a standstill; trade was stopped, vehicles couldn’t traverse the fog and many ended up in hospital. Though environmental issues had lingered for decades prior to this event, it wasn’t until such a mass tragedy occurred that laws began to be put in place to protect the environment and the health of the people.
The industrial revolution made smog a bigger problem in London than ever before. Think of the novels of Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the smokey mystery about their portrayals of London. How dismal and grey their written worlds seemed, filled with a murk so obscure in comparison to the modern London we’re used to. Though the smog became a wider spread problem there wasn’t much being done about it — the new jobs in the coal factories provided stability for a number of families, and that was something no one particularly wanted to give up. Poverty was an issue — workhouses had been abolished (with good reason), and families were desperate to get food on the table. Lung health was a long-term problem, starvation was imminent, and the will to survive took people into dangerous working situations that they likely would have avoided, were they given the chance.
The main issue lay with the coal industry. Londoners were using coal both industrially and domestically, mainly to heat their homes. Warmth was important to withstand a cold British winter, and with the coal business booming it seemed reasonable, even sensible, to heat your home through such means. But the rapid usage both inside and outside culminated in perhaps the worst environmental disaster to date.
Factories had tried to avoid such a tragedy. They were now located on the outskirts of town, rather than in the midst of the city centre. Smog was becoming less of a problem than it had in the past, but the weather played a large part in perpetuating this specific disaster. Something called an anticyclone happened, meaning warm air was trapped beneath cold air, letting the smog and pollution collect and linger in heavy clouds that were so thick people were unable to see their own feet. Of course, opportunists took this as a chance to seize; crime skyrocketed as cars were abandoned and the citizens struggled to make their way to the hospital through the gloom. Theatre shows and indoor events were canceled, the city came to a complete standstill as people fell ill and began to die. After a tough five days the smog lifted, the air cleared, and the government finally put the Clean Air Act into law four years later.
The effects on the survivors
Those who made it to the other side weren’t out of the woods yet. A study has shown that children exposed to the smog were more likely to develop asthma. Other initial survivors later died from other respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and lung cancer, taking the death toll to even higher numbers than were initially recorded. Those born at the time of the smog would be in their seventies today, and so we may be yet to see even more deaths that can be attributed to early childhood exposure.
I can’t help but think
It’s rather dystopian, isn’t it? Quite post-apocalyptic; a dark, looming cloud closing in upon the helpless, choking them, poisoning them, lingering upon the affected for years to come. The real world is often scarier than fiction.
In an age where we’re living through a pandemic that affects the respiratory system, it’s important to remember events such as these. Only five days, and yet, so much disaster — we must take care of our lungs and the air we breathe. We have a duty of care to the environment around us, too; it provides so much and we take from it without a second thought. Nature is finite, perhaps we should remember that more often.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go and hug a tree.
Thank you for reading!
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