Great Smog of London - December 5, 1952

On this day in 1952, a toxic smog that killed thousands of people descended on London. Click here to learn more about the incident in an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class called "The Great London Smog." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hi everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This
Day in History Class, a podcast where we rip out
a page from the history books every day. Today is
December five, nineteen. The day was December five, nineteen fifty two.

(00:28):
A dense layer of fog descended on London and covered
the city for five days. The fog ended up killing
thousands of people and what was the worst air pollution
disaster in the United Kingdom. It was a particularly chilly
time in the misty city of London since an anti
cyclone had caused cold, stagnant air to become trapped below

(00:49):
warm air. Though factories had been moving out of the
city and smog was not an issue as frequently as
it once was, businesses and households still used a lot
of cold fog mixed with sulfur dioxide and smoke that
came from smokestacks, chimneys and vehicles. Since smog and anticyclones

(01:09):
happened relatively frequently in London, residents did not think much
of the polluted fog, but the temperature inversion made it
so that the smog could not rise, trapping it near
the ground. And there was no wind to carry the
smog away from the city. The smog began to get
thicker and it smelled of sulfur. It limited visibility to

(01:30):
the point that people couldn't see their own feet. Because
drivers were unable to navigate, transportation was brought to a halt.
The London Underground could still operate, but boat traffic, flights
and trains could not. Emergency vehicles had difficulty getting through
the city streets, leaving many people to walk to get
help and crime rates to rise. Children stayed home from school,

(01:55):
and sporting events were canceled because the smog made its
way into building. Indoor events like plays and concerts were
also canceled. The smog lifted on December ninth, when wind
carried the smog away from the city into the North Sea,
but the smog had been lethal. As people inhaled the
toxics mog, they died of bronchitis and pneumonia. The elderly,

(02:18):
children and people who already had respiratory issues were particularly
at risk of complications or death due to the smog.
Many people choked to death or died of heart failure
as they struggled to breathe animals died or became ill
because of the smog. Around four thousand people died in
the immediate aftermath of the incident, but in the months

(02:40):
after the smog the death rate remained high, as thousands
more people than normal died because of the smogs effects,
and estimated twelve thousand people died due to the toxics mog.
The devastation that the fog caused made clear the impact
of air pollution. Still, government officials didn't treat the issue

(03:00):
with urgency. Some thought legislating cleaner air was unnecessary and alarmist,
Some were worried about how expensive it would be to
implement cleaner fuels, and some denied that Small caused the
high death rate. It took an investigative committee to push
the government to act. In nineteen fifty six, the British

(03:21):
government passed the Clean Air Act, which restricted the burning
of coal in urban areas and authorized the establishment of
smoke free areas. Homeowners were also offered grants that would
allow them to switch from coal heating systems to alternative
systems that used oil, natural gas, or electricity. Even though
Small caused more disasters in the following years, air pollution

(03:44):
in London eventually improved as people converted from coal and
the Great Small of London increased public awareness of pollution
related issues. I'm Eve Jeffcote and hopefully you know a
little more about history today than you did yesterday. You
can find us on social media at t d i
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(04:08):
also shoot us an email at this Day at i
heart media dot com. I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
We'll be back tomorrow with another one. For more podcasts

(04:32):
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