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Another London pea-souper desends on Londons Regent Street, as shoppers wrapped up to keep out the cold wait at the bus stop in December 1962. Later in the month the 1962/ 1963 big freeze would decend on Britain lasting until March 1963. Merry Christmas everyone!
Arthur Rackham
Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Arizona, December 7, 1952
Fog, Greenhouse Affect #4, May 28th, 2018
All the facts in this comic are taken from Nicholas Mirzoeff’s “How To See The World,” an excellent book on the history of images with a good chapter about depictions of air pollution, which I highly recommend
More on the Clean Air Act and “Pea Soupers”
The Great Smog of London was a severe air pollution event that affected London in December 1952 following a period of unusually cold and still weather. Combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions which collected airborne pollutants mostly arising from the use of coal, it formed a thick layer of smog over the capital. It lasted from Friday 5th December to Tuesday 9th December 1952, resulting in the worst fog London had ever seen. On the 9th December the weather changed and the fog dispersed as quick as it had arrived leaving a devastating aftermath.
A Government medical report in the weeks following the event estimated that up to 4,000 people had died as a direct result of the smog and 100,000 more were made ill suffering from respiratory problems. More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater, probably around 10,000.
Please check out other posts with #pea souper here on @vintage-london-images
Another London pea-souper desends on Londons Regent Street, as shoppers wrapped up to keep out the cold wait at the bus stop in December 1962. Later in the month the 1962/ 1963 big freeze would decend on Britain lasting until March 1963. Merry Christmas everyone!
A series of colour photographs taken in London during the great smog of December 1952. I may add that these photographs were taken in the day time, in some you can see the sun trying to break through the fog.
On the 5th December 1952, a heavy smog fell across London and the government's policies were partly to blame. To maximise revenue the UK was exporting its clean coal and keeping the sulphur-laden 'dirty' coal for UK power stations and domestic fires. The result was a combination of soot laden air and droplets of sulphuric acid lying in a 200ft-deep blanket across London, leading to the worst smog ever recorded.
A London Police officer wears a mask to help protect him from another London smog whilst on duty on the street, December 1962. Exactly 10 years previously in December 1952, a great smog desended on London ultimately causing the deaths of up to 12000 Londoners. This led to the Clean Air Act of 1956 but it's legislation didn't go far enough and London's 'pea-soupers' still desended. Another act in 1968 brought in tougher legislation on the burning of fossil fuels and encouraged the use of gas and electricity in homes and businesses.
