Great Smog of London

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Coordinates:51.507°N 0.127°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Smog of London

Nelson's Columnduring the Great Smog
Date	5–9 December 1952
Location	London, England
Coordinates	51.507°N 0.127°W
Casualties
100,000 injured (1952 government estimate)[1]
Unknown number affected by breathing difficulties, lung cancer andbronchitis
Deaths	4,000 killed (1952 government estimate)[1] 10,000–12,000 killed (modern estimate)[1][2]

TheGreat Smog of London, orGreat Smog of 1952, was a severeair pollutionevent that affectedLondon, England, in December 1952. A period of unusually cold weather, combined with ananticycloneand windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants—mostly arising from the use ofcoal—to form a thick layer ofsmogover the city. It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, then dispersed quickly when the weather changed.^[3][4]