Problems

Pollution is damage to the air, sea, rivers or land caused by chemicals, waste and harmful gases. The biggest polluter today is the car. Exhaust fumes are the main cause of bad air quality, which can make people feel ill and have difficulty breathing. This problem is especially bad in big cities where, on days when there is not much wind, a brown layer of smog hangs in the air. The number of cars is increasing every year and it causes serious congestion. Governments built new roads trying to improve the situation, but this means that they cut down trees and destroy more of the countryside.

The greenhouse effect is caused by harmful gases known as greenhouse gases. These gases are produced when we burn fuels, especially coal burned in power stations to make electricity. The gases go up into the Earth’s atmosphere and stop heat from leaving the Earth. As the heat cannot escape, the temperature on the Earth is running up. This is known as global warming. Global warming may result in the melting of ice at the Poles and rising of sea levels, leading to serious flooding and other disasters in many parts of the world. In other places the temperature will rise and there will be less rain, turning more of the land into desert.

Holes in the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a layer of gases that protects us from ultraviolet light coming from the sun, which can have a harmful effect on animals and causes skin cancer in humans.

Acid rain is a rain harmful to environment because it contains acid from factory smoke. Acid rains cause damage to trees, rivers and buildings.