What Causes Air Pollution? | NASA Climate Kids

Air pollution is caused by solid and liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. These particles and gases can come ... WhatCausesAirPollution? TheShortAnswer: Airpollutioniscausedbysolidandliquidparticlesandcertaingasesthataresuspendedintheair.Theseparticlesandgasescancomefromcarandtruckexhaust,factories,dust,pollen,moldspores,volcanoesandwildfires.Thesolidandliquidparticlessuspendedinourairarecalledaerosols. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech Airpollutionhappenswhensolidandliquidparticles—calledaerosols—andcertaingasesendupinourair.Theseparticlesandgasescanbebadfortheplanetandforourhealth,sokeepingtrackofthemisimportant. Wheredoaerosolscomefrom? Anyparticlethatgetspickedupintotheairorisformedfromchemicalreactionsintheaircanbeanaerosol.Manyaerosolsentertheatmospherewhenweburnfossilfuels—suchascoalandpetroleum—andwood.Theseparticlescancomefrommanysources,includingcarexhaust,factoriesandevenwildfires.Someoftheparticlesandgasescomedirectlyfromthesesources,butothersformthroughchemicalreactionsintheair. Aerosolscancomefromotherplaces,too,suchasashfromaneruptingvolcano.Dust,pollenfromplantsandmoldsporesarealsoexamplesofaerosols. ThisanimationusesNASAdatatoshowhowashfromavolcanoinChiletravelsaroundtheworldinouratmosphere.Credit:NASA'sGoddardSpaceFlightCenter Whatelsecausesairpollution? Certaingasesintheatmospherecancauseairpollution.Forexample,incities,agascalledozoneisamajorcauseofairpollution.Ozoneisalsoagreenhousegasthatcanbebothgoodandbadforourenvironment.ItalldependswhereitisinEarth’satmosphere. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech Ozonehighupinouratmosphereisagoodthing.IthelpsblockharmfulenergyfromtheSun,calledradiation.But,whenozoneisclosertotheground,itcanbereallybadforourhealth.Groundlevelozoneiscreatedwhensunlightreactswithcertainchemicalsthatcomefromsourcesofburningfossilfuels,suchasfactoriesorcarexhaust. Whenparticlesintheaircombinewithozone,theycreatesmog.Smogisatypeofairpollutionthatlookslikesmokyfogandmakesitdifficulttosee. Smogisatypeofairpollutionincitiesthatmakesitdifficulttoseeoutside.HereareimagesofBeijingonacleardayafterarain(left)andonasmoggyday(right).Credit:BobakviaWikimediaCommonsCCBY-SA2.5 HowdoesairpollutionaffectEarth’sclimate? AerosolscanimpacthowtheSun’slighthitsEarth.Forexample,someaerosolsreflectsunlightwhileothersabsorbsunlight.Itdependsonthecoloroftheparticle. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech Darksurfaces—whetherit’sablackt-shirtoradarkparticleintheatmosphere—absorbtheSun'sheat.Lighter-coloredsurfacesreflectheatfromtheSun. Awhitet-shirtreflectstheSunonahotday,makingyoufeelcooler.Inthesameway,light-coloredparticlesthatreflecttheSun’slightandheatawayfromEarthcanmaketheglobaltemperaturecooler.Dark-coloredparticlesthatabsorbtheSun’slightcanmaketheglobaltemperaturewarmer. Howdoesairpollutionaffectourhealth? Breathinginpollutedaircanbeverybadforourhealth.Long-termexposuretoairpollutionhasbeenassociatedwithdiseasesoftheheartandlungs,cancersandotherhealthproblems.That’swhyit’simportantforustomonitorairpollution. HowisNASAmonitoringairpollution? NASAusessatellitesorbitingEarthtokeepaneyeonairpollution.Infact,airqualityforecastersuseinformationaboutaerosolsfromNASA’sAqua,TerraandSuomi-NPPsatellites. NASAalsoisdevelopinganewinstrumentcalledtheMulti-AngleImagerforAerosols,orMAIA,toflyaboardafuturespacecraftmission.MAIAwillhelpscientistsunderstandthesize,makeupandquantityofaerosolsinourair.Eventually,scientistswillbeabletocomparethisinformationwithhealthrecords.Thiscanhelpusbetterunderstandtherelationshipbetweenaerosolpollutionandhumanhealth. RelatedNASAMissions Aqua SuomiNPP Terra Games Activities People Videos Mystery