The impact of the 1952 London smog event and its relevance for current wood-smoke abatement strategies in Australia

The Potential Impact of Smog Spell on Humans' Health Amid COVID-19 Rages

Rapid and unchecked industrialization and the combustion of fossil fuels have engendered a state of fear in urban settlements. Smog is a visible form of air pollution that arises due to the over-emissions of some primary pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrocarbons, SO₂, NO, and NO₂ which further react in the atmosphere and give rise to toxic and carcinogenic secondary smog components. Smog reduces the visibility on roads and results in road accidents and cancellation of flights. Uptake of primary and secondary pollutants of smog is responsible for several deleterious diseases of which respiratory disorders, cardiovascular dysfunction, neurological disorders, and cancer are discussed here. Children and pregnant women are more prone to the hazards of smog. The worsening menace of smog on one hand and occurrence of pandemic i.e., COVID-19 on the other may increase the mortality rate. But the implementation of lockdown during pandemics has favored the atmosphere in some ways, which will be highlighted in the article. On the whole, the focus of this article will be on the dubious relationship between smog and coronavirus.

The new smart city programme: Evaluating the effect of the internet of energy on air quality in China

The internet of energy conforms to the trend of clean, electrified, networked, and intelligent urban energy systems and is a new solution for the green development of smart cities. Using air-quality-index big data from official publications for 2018 to 2019, this study performs a quasi-natural experiment to assess the impact of internet of energy demonstration projects in China. Using a difference-in-difference test, it is found that this initiative improves the air quality of pilot cities. After estimating a spatial panel regression model, we find that the spatial radiation effect of the policy indicates that the air quality around the pilot city is also improved. This study provides empirical evidence for the promotion and application of internet of energy projects.