The Killer Smog

    The Killer Smog struck on December 5, 1952. Brian Bone was 9 years old. That morning, Brian opened the back door to let out his dog, Tarzan. The air was damp and smoky. But that wasn’t odd for London at that time of year. Brian shut the door and went about his day. 

    Later, when Brian went to call the dog in, he realized something was very wrong. The air had turned black. It had a sharp smell—like chemicals and rotten eggs. Brian and his parents called for Tarzan. But the dog had escaped through an opening in the fence. 

    Across London, everything went dark. Trains stopped on their tracks. Cars crashed. Being indoors was no escape. The black air crept under doors. It filled up homes, offices, and hospitals. 

    What was happening?

    The Killer Smog struck on December 5, 1952. Brian Bone was 9. That morning, he opened the back door to let out his dog, Tarzan. The air was damp and smoky. But that wasn’t odd for London at that time of year. Brian shut the door and went about his day. 

    Later, when Brian went to call the dog in, he realized something was wrong. The air had turned black. It smelled bad. Brian and his parents called for Tarzan. But the dog had escaped through an opening in the fence.

    Across London, everything went dark. Trains stopped. Cars crashed. Being indoors didn’t help. The black air crept under doors. It filled up homes, offices, and hospitals.

    What was going on?

    The Killer Smog struck on December 5, 1952. That morning, 9-year-old Brian Bone opened the back door to let out his dog, Tarzan. The air was damp and smoky, but that wasn’t unusual for London at that time of year. Brian closed the door and went about his day. 

    Later, when Brian went to call the dog inside, he realized something was terribly wrong. The air had turned black, and it had a sharp odor—like chemicals and rotten eggs. Brian and his parents called for Tarzan, but the dog had escaped through an opening in the fence.

    Across London, everything went dark. Trains stopped on their tracks, and cars crashed. Being indoors was no escape. The black air crept under doors and filled up homes, offices, and hospitals.

    What was happening?

    London had always been known for its fog on chilly days. It could make the city gloomy. But it was harmless. Fog is just microscopic drops of water trapped in the air.

    By the 1800s, though, London had grown more crowded and modern. Pollution from factories and chimneys filled the air. Much of this pollution came from burning coal. On cold and foggy days, dirty smoke would stick to the tiny drops of water in the air. In 1905, this dark, dirty air got a name: smog.

    Smog wasn’t just in London. The early 1900s was a time of growth all over Europe and the United States. Smoke from factories and steel mills turned cities ugly.

    Most people thought nothing could be done to make the air cleaner. Coal was the cheapest way to heat a home. It was all most people could afford.

    And factories needed to stay open. If they closed, millions of people would lose their jobs.

    Smog, it seemed, was just a fact of city life.

    London had always been known for its fog on chilly days. Although the fog sometimes made the city appear gloomy, it was harmless. Fog is nothing but microscopic drops of water trapped in the air.

    By the 1800s, however, London had become more crowded and modern. Pollution from factories and chimneys, much of it caused by burning coal, filled the air. On cold and foggy days, dirty smoke would stick to the tiny drops of water in the air. In 1905, this dark, dirty air got a name: smog.

    Smog wasn’t a problem only in London. The early 1900s was a time of growth all over Europe—and the United States. Smoke from factories and steel mills turned cities ugly.

    Most people thought nothing could be done to make the air cleaner. Coal was the cheapest way to heat a home, and it was the only affordable option for most people.

    And if factory owners closed their factories, millions of people would end up unemployed.

    Smog, it seemed, was simply a fact of city life.

    Smog wasn’t just dark and smelly. It was dangerous too. It contained chemicals and particulates—mostly specks of unburned coal. But not many people knew that. 

    Experts didn’t fully understand how smog damages the body. But there were signs that it was harmful. On smoggy days in London, kids would wheeze in school. Emergency rooms would fill with patients who had lung problems. Still, not much was done to solve the problem—until the smog of 1952.

    At the time, few people realized that smog was dangerous as well as dark and smelly. It contained harmful chemicals and particulates—mostly specks of unburned coal. As the Bone family searched outside for Tarzan, their lungs filled with poison.

    Scientists didn’t fully understand how smog damages the body, but there were signs that it was harmful. On smoggy days in London, schoolkids would wheeze as they tried to work. Emergency rooms would fill with patients having lung problems. Still, little was done to reduce air pollution—until the smog of 1952.

    This smog was worse than others before it. The weather was very cold. People were burning more coal than usual to stay warm. And there was no wind to clear away the dirty air. So day after day, schools stayed closed. Workers couldn’t get to their jobs. 

    By day three of the fog, there was some good news at the Bone house. Tarzan had made his way home. But Brian couldn’t do much to celebrate. He was sick in bed with a burning, painful cough. 

    All around London, thousands of people were getting sick. At first, most doctors believed that people were suffering from the flu. But soon it became clear that the smog was making people sick—and killing them.

    By the time the smog finally cleared on the fifth day, more than 4,000 people had died. In the coming months, roughly 8,000 more would die from lung damage.

    This smog was worse than others before it. The weather was very cold. To stay warm, people were burning more coal than usual. And there was no wind to clear away the dirty air. So day after day, schools stayed closed. Workers stayed home.

    By day three of the fog, there was some good news at the Bone house. Tarzan had come home. But Brian couldn’t do much to celebrate. He was sick. He had a burning, painful cough.

    Around London, thousands of people were getting sick. At first, most doctors thought it was the flu. But soon they saw that the smog was the problem.

    The smog cleared on the fifth day. By then, more than 4,000 people had died. In the coming months, about 8,000 more would die from lung damage.

    This smog was worse than others before it. The weather was extremely cold. People were burning more coal than usual to stay warm, and there was no wind to clear away the dirty air. So day after day, schools remained closed and workers stayed home.

    By day three of the fog, there was some happy news at the Bone house. Tarzan had made his way home. Unfortunately, Brian couldn’t do much to celebrate. He was sick in bed with a burning, painful cough.

    All around London, thousands of people were getting sick. At first, most doctors believed that people were suffering from the flu. But soon it became clear that the smog was making people sick—and killing them.

    By the time the smog finally cleared on the fifth day, more than 4,000 people had died. In the coming months, approximately 8,000 more would die from lung damage.