What is Pollution?
Pollution is the contamination of land, air and water. Not just land, air and water, there are many other different types of pollution present. Noise pollution, radioactive pollution and thermal pollution are the other different types of pollution. Disasters caused by pollution include floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc. Pollution can be of two types. They are natural pollution and man-made pollution. Man-made pollution is the major cause of degradation of the environment.
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Types of Pollution and Calamities
There are many different types of pollution present in the environment, but the major or primary types of pollution are three in number. They are mentioned below:
Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Land Pollution
Now, one by one we will learn about them.
Air Pollution: When the air is contaminated, it is known as air pollution. The major cause of air pollution is the smoke released from factories and vehicles, the burning of fossil fuels, the burning of coal for energy, and the burning of wastes and crops. Due to this, many harmful gases are released into the atmosphere and this causes various diseases such as asthma, difficulty in breathing, skin diseases and many more.
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Water Pollution: When oils, chemicals, plastics and other wastes are thrown into the water bodies, they cause water pollution. Contamination of water from these human-made activities is termed water pollution.
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Land Pollution: When the waste materials from households are not properly discarded and recycled, it causes land pollution. Land pollution leads to degradation of the soil and hence farmers face difficulty in growing crops.
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Causes of Pollution and Calamities
There are natural factors and human-made factors that are responsible for causing different types of pollution. The different pollutions along with their causes are written below:
Air Pollution: Causes of air pollution are the burning of fossil fuels, burning of coal for energy extraction, smoke from factories and vehicles, burning of residual crops, and burning of garbage.
Water Pollution: Causes of water pollution are washing of household items into the water bodies, bathing in the water bodies, oil spills, chemical waste dumping, radioactive waste discharge, improper sewage disposal, etc.
Land Pollution: Waste from sewage treatment plants, waste from oil platforms, trash and waste that are dumped on land.
Effects of Pollution and Calamities
Pollution and calamities have very harsh effects on the environment. Not only the environment, but they also affect human beings too. The effects of pollution and calamities are listed below along with different types of pollution.
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Air Pollution: There are many long-term effects that are associated with air pollution. When an individual is exposed to harmful air for a longer period of time, there are certain types of diseases that develop. They are Asthma and the degradation of the lungs. Heart diseases and lung cancer are also caused by long-term exposure to polluted air.
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Water Pollution: Overpopulation is one of the major causes of water pollution. Due to this, there is destruction of biodiversity and also contamination of the food chain. When water bodies get polluted, it results in the destruction and death of aquatic plants and animals.
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Land Pollution: When the land or soil is polluted, it causes a loss of fertility of the soil which then results in damage to the crop plants and deficiency of nutrients in the crop plants.
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Conclusion
When harmful materials and chemicals are introduced into the environment, it is known as pollution. There are many different types of pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, noise pollution and many more. Any type of pollution, if present, has ill effects on the environment. It causes problems for the animals, plants and also the human beings. Therefore, we must take measures to get rid of pollution and follow a sustainable living lifestyle. Since the resources we have are pretty limited, it is our responsibility to pass them on to the coming future generations.
Do It Yourself
Visit the pollution level indicators in your city.
Note the reading of them and mark it as Day 1.
Now, after every 15 days, check the reading for 6 months.
Note the levels of p.m 2.0 and p.m 10.
What do you observe after 6 months?
Are the readings the same for every month or are they affected by the changing weather?
Compare your results with your friends in different cities.
FAQs on Pollution and Calamities
1. List some ways in which you can reduce pollution.
Some ways in which we can reduce pollution are:
We should avoid the burning of leaves and trash.
We should more often use the public mode of transportation than the private mode.
We should switch off our vehicle engine when we are waiting at the red light.
2. What do you understand about recycling?
Recycling is one of the methods by which we can contribute to saving our environment. It is the method by which the waste is collected and recycled so that it can be remodelled and used in some other work. It helps in eliminating and preventing pollution from its source.
3. How has pollution affected our monuments?
Air pollution is the major cause by which the Taj Mahal has been severely affected. The white marble of the Taj Mahal has turned yellow because of the acid rains. Acid rains are rich in sulphur. This sulphur is present in the rains from the factories that emit it. A lot of factories have been set up in the adjacent areas of the Taj Mahal and this has resulted in air pollution which has indeed caused the acid rains.
