IMPACT OF POLLUTION ON ENVIORNMENT AND ITS TYPES

Pollution occurs when pollutants contaminate the natural surroundings; which brings about changes that affect our normal lifestyles adversely. Pollutants are the key elements or components of pollution which are generally waste materials of different forms. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in the environment. With modernization and development in our lives, pollution has reached its peak; giving rise to global warming and human illness.Pollution occurs in different forms; air, water, soil, radioactive, noise, heat/ thermal, and light. Let us discuss the different types of pollutions and their effects on mankind and the environment as a whole.

                                                                     Major Types of Pollution

Air Pollution:- Excessive burning of fuel which is a necessity of our daily lives for cooking, driving and other industrial activities; releases a huge amount of chemical substances in the air every day; these pollute the air.Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal burning; this releases sulfur dioxide into the air making it toxic. The effects of air pollution are evident too. The release of sulfur dioxide and other hazardous gases into the air causes global warming and acid rain; which in turn have increased temperatures, erratic rains and droughts worldwide; making it tough for the animals to survive..

Water Pollution :- It occurs due to several factors; the industrial wastes dumped into the rivers and other water bodies cause an imbalance in the water leading to its severe contamination and death of aquatic species. Also spraying insecticides, pesticides like DDT on plants pollutes the groundwater system and oil spills in the oceans have caused irreparable damage to the water bodies. Eutrophication is another big source; it occurs due to daily activities like washing clothes, utensils near lakes, ponds or rivers; this forces detergents to go into the water which blocks sunlight from penetrating, thus reducing oxygen and making it inhabitable.Water pollution not only harms the aquatic beings but it also contaminates the entire food chain by severely affecting humans dependent on these. Water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhea have also increased in all places.

Soil pollution:- Use of insecticides and pesticides absorbs the nitrogen compounds from the soil making it unfit for plants to derive nutrition from. The release of industrial waste, mining, and deforestation also exploits the soil. Since plants can’t grow properly, they can’t hold the soil and this leads to soil erosion.

Noise pollution:- is caused when noise which is an unpleasant sound affects our ears and leads to psychological problems like stress, hypertension, hearing impairment, etc. It is caused by machines in industries, loud music, etc.

Radioactive pollution:-  It can occur due to nuclear plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste disposal, accidents, etc. It causes cancer, infertility, blindness, defects at the time of birth; can sterilize soil and affect air and water.

Thermal pollution:- is due to the excess heat in the environment creating unwanted changes over long time periods; due to the huge number of industrial plants, deforestation, and air pollution. It increases the earth’s temperature, causing drastic climatic changes and extinction of wildlife.

.