![]() ![]() Much like people in our own time who refuse to accept the scientific consensus that human consumption of fossils fuels is causing climate change, many Londoners initially looked upon the fog as a natural occurrence that it was, to quote the title of this programme episode, an “Act of God.” “Unusual” weatherĬontrary to Churchill’s assertions that the fog enveloping London was nothing more than an unusual weather event, experts had long known that London fog consisted of much more than water vapour. Lack of visibility brought normal life to a halt, with airports closed, rail service severely delayed, and road traffic extremely dangerous for drivers and pedestrians alike. As depicted in the Netflix series The Crown (which last year aired on Chinese streaming sites) the disaster seemingly came out of nowhere, as sunny blue skies suddenly gave way to a choking, blinding, fog that enveloped the city and was more severe than anything many had seen before. ![]() In December 1952, London experienced a catastrophe. As coal-based power increases across Asia, not least because of backing by China, this look back into the past is incredibly timely. In this essay, Peter Thorshein picks apart the political reasons why the deadly air pollution choked Londoners in 1952, and how the ensuing political crisis finally made the government act. Scientists have found that the smog had striking similarities to the air pollution that currently blankets cities like Beijing, especially the role of cheap, dirty coal in the production of the pollution. The new Netflix series, “The Crown”, which started airing in 2016, included an episode on the killer fog of London that claimed 4,000 lives in December 1952. As cities in developing countries continue to dominate the news on air pollution, especially Beijing and Delhi, it is easy to forget that this is not a new problem, and that developed countries faced this before. ![]()
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