Air pollution sources
Air pollution takes place when chemicals contaminate the atmosphere affecting its structure and composition and producing significant harmful effects on human health, animals, vegetation and environmental quality.
Air pollutants can be classified according to their origin:
- anthropogenic (man-made) sources, which are the result of various human activities;
- natural sources such as fire particles, volcanic eruptions and degradation of organic matter.
Contaminants can also be classified as:
- primary pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide or nitrogen monoxide, which are directly emitted into the atmosphere from its sources;
- secondary pollutants, as ozone, which are formed as a result of chemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Anthropogenic pollution is caused by major stationary point sources as industries, incinerators and thermoelectric plants, minor stationary point sources as domestic heating systems, and by mobile point sources such as vehicular traffic.
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Coral turns pale!
The coral reef is one of the ecosystems with the richest biodiversity...
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13 May 2018
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Have you ever wondered how much space is taken up by an apple or a steak?...
15 November 2021
How did Cop26 end?
On Saturday afternoon in Glasgow, representatives of more than 200 countries attending the COP26 United Nations climate change conference reached…
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5 November 2021
Cop26, the calendar for the climate conference
1 November was the first day of the summit, the opening ceremony of which began with a speech by British…
25 August 2021
Geo-engineering: a contribution to mitigate climate change?
Geo-engineering, the science to moderate global warming...
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10 February 2020
Coral turns pale!
The coral reef is one of the ecosystems with the richest biodiversity...
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13 May 2018
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Have you ever wondered how much space is taken up by an apple or a steak?...
From the Multimedia section
Facts
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Radars in meteorology
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24 February 2011
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GOES meteorological satellites
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