London has always been known for its fogs and mists. Charles Dickens called then “London particulars” in Bleak House. In December 1952, one of those fogs turned deadly. On the morning of December 5, 1952, clear skies and cool conditions prevailed under high pressure over the British Isles. With clear skies and light winds, conditions were perfect for radiational cooling and fog formed over the city of London. Temperatures cooled near the surface, resulting in an inversion where temperatures increased with altitude instead of decreasing as they normally would. This inversion trapped pollutants near the ground. Smoke from coal fires belched from countless chimneys as residents tried to ward off the cold. The weather had been cold for weeks and most homes were heated with coal, so pollution was even higher than normal. Pollution had been a way of life in the city since the Industrial Revolution. The combination of industrial burning, residential burning and diesel engines resulted in terrible air quality. The fog never dissipated on the 5th. It was a white, smoky fog that seemed harmless.
But that night, the fog thickened. The next morning, a thick, gray, oily fog obscured everything. The sun was never powerful enough to burn off the thick fog all day on the 6th. Over the next two days, the fog continued to grow thicker and thicker until people could not even see their hands. Residents piled more coal on their fires in a vain attempt to get warm. As more smoke rose from their chimneys, the inversion held it tightly in place like a lid and the fog became thicker. By Sunday, December 7th, visibility was down to one foot. Pictures from the time are surreal, like something out of a Bogart movie. Nearly all transportation came to a standstill. Even the ambulances stopped running. Dying people, their lips blue from lack of oxygen were forced to walk to the hospital. The death rate shot up. In a normal day, around 200 people died in London. On the 6th, that number rose to 500. Nine hundred died on the 9th. Winds would return on the 9th. As quickly as the fog had appeared, it evaporated. The death toll from the Great London Fog will never be known for sure. Estimated range from 4000-6000 deaths from bronchitis, pneumonia and other cardiopulmonary ailments. The legacy of the disaster is the Clean Air Act of 1956. The Great London Fog and the Donora, Pennsylvania smog event of 1947 did more to advance environmental causes that anything else.
But that night, the fog thickened. The next morning, a thick, gray, oily fog obscured everything. The sun was never powerful enough to burn off the thick fog all day on the 6th. Over the next two days, the fog continued to grow thicker and thicker until people could not even see their hands. Residents piled more coal on their fires in a vain attempt to get warm. As more smoke rose from their chimneys, the inversion held it tightly in place like a lid and the fog became thicker. By Sunday, December 7th, visibility was down to one foot. Pictures from the time are surreal, like something out of a Bogart movie. Nearly all transportation came to a standstill. Even the ambulances stopped running. Dying people, their lips blue from lack of oxygen were forced to walk to the hospital. The death rate shot up. In a normal day, around 200 people died in London. On the 6th, that number rose to 500. Nine hundred died on the 9th. Winds would return on the 9th. As quickly as the fog had appeared, it evaporated. The death toll from the Great London Fog will never be known for sure. Estimated range from 4000-6000 deaths from bronchitis, pneumonia and other cardiopulmonary ailments. The legacy of the disaster is the Clean Air Act of 1956. The Great London Fog and the Donora, Pennsylvania smog event of 1947 did more to advance environmental causes that anything else.