In Pics | World's worst air pollution disasters of all time
Dust Bowl
Around the 1930s, a prolonged drought struck which led to a series of severe dust storms that damaged the agriculture and ecology of the American and Canadian prairies. These ‘black blizzards’ caused harmful dust particles to accumulate in people's lungs, which caused deaths in hundreds and thousands who were ill.
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Bhopal gas tragedy
On the night of 2-3 December 1984, a chemical accident occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, causing over 500,000 people to get exposed to highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC). Thousands of deaths were recorded, making it the world’s worst industrial disaster.
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Great Smog of London
In December 1952, London was gripped by a bitter cold, which resulted in people using coal in large quantities to heat their homes. The resulting smoke, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, resulted in extremely harmful and toxic air filled with pollutants and reduced visibility to zero. This event is thought to be the worst air pollution condition to have ever happened in the United Kingdom.
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Kuwait oil fires
During the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, the Iraqi military set fire to about 650 oil wells in Kuwait at the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. This led to oily smoke dispersing into the air which made even the sun appear with a darker shade and made it difficult to breathe for those who were outside.
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Donora Smog
A yellow fog covered Pennsylvania's city of Donora in the United States in 1948. Considered the worst air pollution disaster in US history, the haze caused obscured vision and breathing difficulties for the residents. This smog resulted in the death of 20 people and caused respiratory problems to 6,000 residents of the city.
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Chernobyl accident
On April 26, 1986, Unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl, Ukraine, was destroyed due to a sudden power surge. This led to an explosion at the facility which released enormous amounts of radioactive material into the air for about 10 days. This event led to the death of 30 people and caused a cancer epidemic in the nearby areas.
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