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The Great Smog Of London Which Killed Over 12,000 People In 1952

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London has always been loyal host of heavy mists and fogs. However, the rise of industrial revolution, in the late 19th and early 20th century, took on a more sinister character. Coal plants and factories doubled the amount of fog and added toxic chemicals in atmosphere which resulted in creating a noxious smoky fog. Variations in atmospheric pressure and temperature could sometimes cause thick smog to settle over London for days at a time, restricting visibility and causing health problems.

The most notorious incident known as “The Great Smog” occurred in 1952. A weather phenomenon known as an anticyclone essentially placed a lid of warm air over London, trapping all of the city’s emissions at ground level. Visibility was nonexistent, and the city was paralyzed. The smog blanketed the London for five days in December, 1952. More than 12,000 people were died and 15,000 people were hospitalized. Thousands of animals and birds also died. This disastrous incident sparked modern environmental movements and led to legislation reducing the amount of air pollution in the UK.

Here below are some photographs that show how the London looked like during the Great Smog

#1 Pedestrian traffic on a foggy night outside a London Transport station and the London Pavillion cinema in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

Pedestrian traffic on a foggy night outside a London Transport station and the London Pavillion cinema in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

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#2 View along a sidewalk in on a foggy night, London, 1952.

View along a sidewalk in on a foggy night, London, 1952.

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#3 View of a parked car near the Statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

View of a parked car near the Statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

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#4 Street scene on a foggy night near the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus, London, England, 1952.

Street scene on a foggy night near the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus, London, England, 1952.

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#5 On a foggy night, a man on a motorcycle waits at a pedestrian cross-walk, London, 1952.

On a foggy night, a man on a motorcycle waits at a pedestrian cross-walk, London, 1952.

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#6 Boys sliding on the ice in the fog at Hampstead Heath ponds during the Great Smog of London, 1952.

Boys sliding on the ice in the fog at Hampstead Heath ponds during the Great Smog of London, 1952.

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#7 A foggy Piccadilly partially lit by the light from a fruit seller’s stall’, 1952.

A foggy Piccadilly partially lit by the light from a fruit seller's stall’, 1952.

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#8 Street scene on a foggy night near the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus, London, 1952.

Street scene on a foggy night near the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus, London, 1952.

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#9 Street scene on a foggy night under the marquee of the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

Street scene on a foggy night under the marquee of the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

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#10 A double-decker bus drives through the fog, London, England, 1952.

A double-decker bus drives through the fog, London, England, 1952.

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#11 Street scene on a foggy night near the London Pavillion cinema in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

Street scene on a foggy night near the London Pavillion cinema in Piccadilly Circus, London, 1952.

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#12 View along a foggy street where pedestrians pass a parked car, London, 1952.

View along a foggy street where pedestrians pass a parked car, London, 1952.

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#15 A family feeding the famous pigeons on a foggy morning in London’s Trafalgar Square, in front of two of Landseer’s lions, December 1952.

A family feeding the famous pigeons on a foggy morning in London's Trafalgar Square, in front of two of Landseer's lions, December 1952.

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#16 Morning traffic at Blackfriars, London almost at a standstill because of the blanket smog. 5th December 1952

Morning traffic at Blackfriars, London almost at a standstill because of the blanket smog. 5th December 1952

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#17 Mid-morning smog, as seen from the embankment at Blackfriars, London, 1952.

Mid-morning smog, as seen from the embankment at Blackfriars, London, 1952.

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#18 A London bus makes its way along Fleet Street in heavy smog, 6th December 1952.

A London bus makes its way along Fleet Street in heavy smog, 6th December 1952.

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#19 Heavy smog in Piccadilly Circus, London, 6th December 1952.

Heavy smog in Piccadilly Circus, London, 6th December 1952.

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#21 A man guiding an Automobile through the street by the torch, 1952.

A man guiding an Automobile through the street by the torch, 1952.

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#22 Pigeons swarm pedestrians as a thick fog shrouds Trafalgar Square and the rest of London.

Pigeons swarm pedestrians as a thick fog shrouds Trafalgar Square and the rest of London.

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#23 A man guiding a London bus through thick fog with a flaming torch.

A man guiding a London bus through thick fog with a flaming torch.

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#24 Policeman on point duty using flares to guide the traffic during a heavy smog in London. 8th December 1952

Policeman on point duty using flares to guide the traffic during a heavy smog in London. 8th December 1952

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#25 A London double-decker bus, during the Great Smog of 1952.

A London double-decker bus, during the Great Smog of 1952.

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#26 Scots Guards march towards Buckingham Palace to take up sentry duty during the Great Smog of 1952.

Scots Guards march towards Buckingham Palace to take up sentry duty during the Great Smog of 1952.

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#27 The Fog Service in Force notice at Paddington Station, London, 1952.

The Fog Service in Force notice at Paddington Station, London, 1952.

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#28 Police constable John Finn, on duty at Old Bailey wears one of the special smog mask issued to members of the London Police force, 1952.

Police constable John Finn, on duty at Old Bailey wears one of the special smog mask issued to members of the London Police force, 1952.

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#29 Large numbers of people using the underground system to get around London during a period of heavy smog, 8th December 1952.

Large numbers of people using the underground system to get around London during a period of heavy smog, 8th December 1952.

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#30 A tugboat on the Thames near Tower Bridge in heavy smog, 1952.

A tugboat on the Thames near Tower Bridge in heavy smog, 1952.

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Written by Aung Budhh

Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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18 Comments

  1. London sits in a horseshoe shaped bowl opening to the east and the North Sea. As a result, any cold winter, east winds (from Siberia) gets trapped in that basin. Heat in those days was mostly by coal fires in open grates, one to a room and not very efficient. 1952 was only seven years after the end of the war and most things were hard to come by, including coal. In London the trams (Street cars) had just finished running and the tracks were being pulled-up. In many places the road level around the tracks was made up of wooden blocks as this kept down the noise. The blocks were put down with grain of the wood up and down and not parallel to the tram rails. The blocks were saturated with coal tar to make them waterproof (it was cheap). Sometimes this tar layer was up to 4 inches thick. Any way, when the tracks came up the wooden blocks were left at the side of the road and many people used them instead of coal for heating. Knocking off the coal tar coating first they burned like crazy producing large amounts of smoke which became mixed with the cold trapped air which became smokier and smokier. Not nice. I remember breathing IN through a handkerchief to find a dark yellow stain upon it. The smog was so thick that you could not see a hand extended at arms length and many people, especially older folk, died of lung related illnesses. Road transport became a night-mare with bus conductors walking in front to show the way! This situation lasted for 3-4 days until the wind blew from the south-west and pushed out the smog. That I remember, there were two or three lots of smog that winter. My theory is that the smog would not have been so bad had the wooden blocks not been burnt.

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