Great Smog of London

Background:

• Great Smog of London, lethal smog that covered the city of London for five days (December 5–9) in 1952, caused by a combination of industrial pollution and high-pressure weather conditions. 

• There was a combination of smoke and fog brought the city to a near standstill and resulted in thousands of deaths. Its consequences prompted the passing of the Clean Air Act four years later, which marked a turning point in the history of environmentalism.

Big Smoke Settles In

• The smog was so dense that residents in some sections of the city were unable to see their feet as they walked. For five days, the Great Smog paralyzed London and crippled all transportation, except for the London Underground train system.

• Every was canceled due to all  of the smoke in the air. Conductors holding flashlights walked in front of London’s iconic double-decker buses to guide drivers down city streets.

• Authorities advised parents to keep their children home from school, partly from fear they would get lost in the blinding smog. Looting, burglaries and purse snatchings increased as emboldened criminals easily vanished into the darkness.

Health Effects of the Great Smog

• Heavy smokers were especially vulnerable because of their already-impaired lungs, and smoking was common at the time, especially among men.

• The smoke was lethal particularly for the elderly, young children and those with respiratory problems.

• Initial reports estimated death rate was about 4,000 died prematurely in the immediate aftermath of the smog.

• After five days of living in a sulfurous hell, the Great Smog finally lifted on December 9, when a brisk wind from the west swept the toxic cloud away from London and out to the North Sea.