Introduction to Pollution: Definition, Types, Causes & Effects

You have landed on the right page to learn and have an Introduction to Pollution. The problem of pollution has become very humourless today. Man has interfered too much with nature. As a result, the environment, which includes air, water, soil, etc., has been polluted. If the environment is polluted, life on Earth will also be affected directly or indirectly. Day by day, due to anthropogenic actions, our atmosphere is becoming more and more polluted.

This is usually due to the pollutants released into the atmosphere through many human activities. Ozone depletion, skin cancer, hearing loss, loss of eyesight, pulmonary problems, etc., are caused because of pollution. So let’s explore more about pollution, its types and its adverse effects on plants and humans in the below article.

What is Pollution?

The initiation of pollutants into the environment, either in the form of chemical substances or energy (such as noise, heat or light), that can cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms or that damage the environment is called pollution.

Types of Pollution

The different types of pollution are listed below:

Air Pollution: Air pollution is the addition of particles, gases, and chemicals into the Earth’s atmosphere that have the potential to affect human health and animal health adversely. Air may get polluted by natural causes such as volcanoes, which release ash, dust, sulphur and other gases, or by forest fires. Burning fossil fuels, mining operations, exhaust gases from industries and factories are the few sources of air pollution that are caused by humans. The impact of air pollution varied based on the pollutants released in the air.

Fig: Air Pollution

1. Noise Pollution: Noise pollution refers to an unwanted or excessive sound that affects human health, wildlife and the environment. Noise pollution is caused in two ways. Natural sources such as volcanic eruption, thunder, etc., and man-made sources of noise pollution include the use of heavy machinery, loudspeakers in public gatherings, automobiles, firecrackers, etc.

Fig: Noise Pollution

2. Water Pollution: The contamination of lakes, rivers, seas, ocean, etc., due to different sources of pollutants introduced in the water bodies that makes the water unfit for drinking, washing, growing crops, etc., is known as water pollution. The pollutants are generally introduced by human activities like improper sewage treatment and oil spills. Water pollution is mainly caused by two sources,  point sources such as municipal and industrial discharge pipes and non-point sources such as agricultural runoff, acid rain, etc.

Study About Environmental Pollution

(a) Marine Pollution Marine pollution can be defined as the introduction of substances or particles to the marine environment directly or indirectly by humans resulting in negative effects such as deterioration of human health, obstruction of marine activities and lowering the quality of seawater. Petroleum, fossil fuels and oil spillage from the roads and during ship accidents, etc., enter the water or sewage system causes water/marine pollution.

(b) Thermal pollution is caused by either dumping hot water from factories and power plants or removing trees and vegetation that shade streams, permitting sunlight to raise the temperature of these waters. This has become an increasing and the most current pollution, owing to the increasing call of globalization everywhere.

Fig: Water Pollution

3. Soil Pollution: Soil pollution depicts the contamination of soil due to the presence of toxic substances such as excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, deforestation, industrial waste, oil spillage, disposal of plastic, etc. Due to soil pollution, the quality of the soil decreases, which makes land unfit for growing crops, construction of buildings, etc.

Fig: Soil Pollution

Causes of Pollution

1. The harmful gases released from automobiles, burning of fossils, mining operations, spraying of pesticides and fertilizers, etc., are the main causes of air pollution and soil pollution.
2. The dumping of plastics, human and animal waste, disposal of industrial waste in the water and natural processes such as eutrophication can cause water pollution.
3. The use of heavy machinery during the construction of buildings, horns of vehicles, loudspeakers, etc., can cause noise pollution. Noise pollution has now become very frequent due to compact urbanization and industrialization.
4. Nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide, mercury, particulate matter, chlorofluorocarbon, volatile organic compounds, etc., are the major harmful pollutants that are responsible for environmental pollution.

Effects of Pollution

1. Pollution changes the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of land, air,  and water.
2. Pollution harms human life and the life of other species by many diseases like skin cancer, heart diseases, hearing loss, aggressive behaviour in animals, etc.
3. Global warming, ozone depletion, climatic changes, etc., caused due to pollution, adversely affect the environment.
4. It also degrades living conditions while wasting or depleting raw material resources.
5. Pollution impacts the natural flora and fauna residing in the soil and spoils the natural vegetation due to the increase of salinity of the soil
6. The country’s cultural heritage is also impacted, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to preserve all historical monuments from acid rain.
7. Some hazardous wastes or toxic by-products and chemicals are termed hazardous pollutants as they have toxic characteristics that the environment cannot assimilate.
8. Pollution thus causes risks to human health, environmental quality and damages natural and man-made resources.

Prevention Measures to Control Pollution

1. Keep your surroundings clean; waste should be placed in bins.
2. Exhaust from automobiles and workshop machinery should be controlled.
3. Public transport should be used rather than private transport.
4. Wastage of water should be avoided by repairing and replacement of taps/knobs.
5. Industrial waste containing various harmful chemicals should be pretreated and sent to the drainage system.
6. Plastic usage can be reduced to avoid soil pollution.
7. Control of land loss and soil erosion can be attempted through restoring forest and grass cover.
8. Crop rotation or mixed cropping can improve the fertility of the land.
9. Sound pollution can be restricted by implementing strict rules like banning the use of loudspeakers or public part systems at night.
10. Reduce the usage of electronic gadgets such as cell phones, computers, air-conditioners, fridges, etc.
11. Walk or cycle where it is safe to do so working is, cycling can help to keep you fit. Observe world environmental day on \({\rm{5th}}\) June.
12. The planting of trees will help to absorb excess carbon dioxide.

Summary

The current generation of children, adults, animals, etc., are suffering from many diseases like blindness, skin cancer, lung cancer, cardiac diseases, etc., because of pollution caused due to the different pollutants. The increase in temperature causes global warming, acid rain, etc. We should avoid throwing dead bodies, industrial wastes, oils, etc., to the holy rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, which impact the major cause of water pollution. We can avoid environmental pollution by planting more trees, using biodegradable covers, throwing organic waste into plants that enrich soil quality, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.1. What is pollution and its effects?
Ans: The initiation of pollutants into the environment either in the form of chemical substances or energy (such as noise, heat or light), that can cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms or that damage the environment is called pollution.
Effects of pollution:
1. Pollution changes the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of air, land and water.
2. Pollution harms human life and the life of other species.
3. It also degrades living conditions while wasting or depleting raw material resources.

Q.2. What are the 4 types of pollution?
Ans: There are various types of pollution but, the main 4 types of pollution are: Air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and noise pollution.

Q.3. How do we stop pollution?
Ans: There are various methods to stop pollution. Few measures are given below:
1. Wastage of water should be avoided by repairing and replacement of taps/knobs.
2. Industrial waste containing various harmful chemicals should be pretreated and send to the drainage system.
3. Plastic usage can be reduced to avoid soil pollution.
4. Control of land loss and soil erosion can be attempted through restoring forest and grass cover.

Q.4. Which country has the least pollution?
Ans: Sweden has the least pollution.

Q.5. Does pollution cause global warming?
Ans: Excess release of carbon dioxide into the air due to various activities like burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, usage of automobiles, etc., leads to the cause of global warming.

Learn Everything About Air Pollution

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