The fog in 4 days killed 12,000 people

Perhaps at first glance and it's very strange that scientists are investigating what happened in the atmosphere over six decades ago, especially when we consider that everything is happening in Earth's atmosphere at this time.

However, it is not in vain that history is the life teacher, and only the study of past events can help prevent similar disasters in the future, Kosovo Press broadcasts.

That is why scientists from University of Texas studied a deadly fog that fell for several days in London in 1952. First appeared on December 5, and disappeared four days later.

The fog left 12,000 dead people, about 150,000 others ended up in hospitals, and no one knows how many animals have died in those four days.

A few years later, the strictest laws of air pollution were passed, but the cause itself has not been enlightened until now.

Renyi Zhang and his team accepted a hard job. They discovered that nitrogen dioxide reacted chemically with relatively sulfur dioxide by producing deadly sulfur acid.

“For a long time it has been known that sulphats are a large part of the mist, and sulfuric acid particles have been produced by sulfur dioxide coming out of the chimney of houses and coal thermal power plants”, said Zhang, reports Business Insiver.

He also noted that so far it was not quite clear how sulfur dioxide was converted into sulfuric acid.

They have identified the correct mechanisms of chemical reactions, and Zhang says London's cosmic natural mist around the Thames River played a major role.

Similar pollution levels occur in China, but no similar case of deadly fog has been reported so far.

Researchers now hope that understanding the causes of London's deadly mist will help other cities fight pollution.