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- Dictionarypollution/pəˈl(j)uːʃn/
noun
- 1. the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects: "the level of pollution in the air is rising" Similar Opposite
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Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
- Overview
- History of pollution
- Pollution control
Pollution occurs when an amount of any substance or any form of energy is put into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed or safely stored. The term pollution can refer to both artificial and natural materials that are created, consumed, and discarded in an unsustainable manner.
What kinds of pollution are there?
Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are three major forms of environmental pollution. Pollution can also refer to excessive human activity, such as light and noise pollution, or to specific pollutants such as plastic or radioactive material. Learn more in this infographic.
Does pollution cause climate change?
Air pollution is the main cause of climate change. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and mass deforestation lead to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which traps heat inside the atmosphere through a process called the greenhouse effect. This impacts climate patterns and sea levels around the world.
How can we reduce pollution?
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events such as forest fires and active volcanoes, use of the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants have an anthropogenic source—that is, a source created by human activities. Pollution has accompanied humankind ever since groups of people first congregated and remained for a long time in any one place. Indeed, ancient human settlements are frequently recognized by their wastes—shell mounds and rubble heaps, for instance. Pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. However, with the establishment of permanent settlements by great numbers of people, pollution became a problem, and it has remained one ever since.
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Pollution
Cities of ancient times were often noxious places, fouled by human wastes and debris. Beginning about 1000 ce, the use of coal for fuel caused considerable air pollution, and the conversion of coal to coke for iron smelting beginning in the 17th century exacerbated the problem. In Europe, from the Middle Ages well into the early modern era, unsanitary urban conditions favoured the outbreak of population-decimating epidemics of disease, from plague to cholera and typhoid fever. Through the 19th century, water and air pollution and the accumulation of solid wastes were largely problems of congested urban areas. But, with the rapid spread of industrialization and the growth of the human population to unprecedented levels, pollution became a universal problem.
By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public. In particular, the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focused attention on environmental damage caused by improper use of pesticides such as DDT and other persistent chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems on a wide scale. In response, major pieces of environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act (1970) and the Clean Water Act (1972; United States), were passed in many countries to control and mitigate environmental pollution.
Giving voice to the growing conviction of most of the scientific community about the reality of anthropogenic global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to help address greenhouse gas emissions. An IPCC special report produced in 2018 noted that human beings and human activities have been responsible for a worldwide average temperature increase between 0.8 and 1.2 °C (1.4 and 2.2 °F) since preindustrial times, and most of the warming over the second half of the 20th century could be attributed to human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.
The presence of environmental pollution raises the issue of pollution control. Great efforts are made to limit the release of harmful substances into the environment through air pollution control, wastewater treatment, solid-waste management, hazardous-waste management, and recycling. Unfortunately, attempts at pollution control are often surpassed by the scale of the problem, especially in less-developed countries. Noxious levels of air pollution are common in many large cities, where particulates and gases from transportation, heating, and manufacturing accumulate and linger. The problem of plastic pollution on land and in the oceans has only grown as the use of single-use plastics has burgeoned worldwide. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane and carbon dioxide, continue to drive global warming and pose a great threat to biodiversity and public health.
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“Pollution is the introduction of substances (or energy) that cause adverse changes in the environment and living entities .” Pollution need not always be caused by chemical substances such as particulates (like smoke and dust). Forms of energy such as sound, heat or light can also cause pollution.
- 2 min
- The different types of pollution include: Air pollution Water pollution Soil pollution Radioactive pollution Noise pollution
- The harmful pollutants responsible for polluting the environment are: Nitrogen oxide Sulphur oxide Mercury Particulate matter Chlorofluorocarbon Vo...
- The different types of pollutants are: Primary Pollutants: These are the pollutants that are emitted directly from the sources such as volcanic eru...
- Radioactive pollution is the pollution caused by the release of radioactive substances in the atmosphere during activities such as nuclear explosio...
- Mercury pollution is the pollution caused by the release of mercury from mercury products or emissions from coal-burning power plants in the air, w...
Mar 6, 2024 · Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.
Oct 17, 2018 · Pollution is the act of introducing harmful substances to the environment that results in harming the natural surroundings. Substances that cause pollution are referred to as pollutants. These polluting substances are so diverse and they include chemical products, waste material, light, heat, and noise among others.
Pollution occurs when an amount of any substance or any form of energy is put into the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed or safely stored. The term pollution can refer to both artificial and natural materials that are created, consumed, and discarded in an unsustainable manner.
The meaning of POLLUTION is the action of polluting; especially : the action of making an environment unsuitable or unsafe for use by introducing man-made waste. How to use pollution in a sentence.
