Environmental Effects

Along with harming human health, air pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects such as eutrophication where in a water body high concentrations of nutrients (such as nitrogen) stimulate blooms of algae, which in turn can cause fish to die and loss of plant and animal diversity. This process is natural but has been drastically sped up by human activities. Another effect as a result of air pollution is haze which is caused when sunlight encounters tiny pollution particles in the air. Haze obscures the clarity, color, texture, and form of what we see. Air pollutants such as PM2.5 can impact wildlife in a number of ways. Like humans, animals can experience health problems if they are exposed to sufficient concentrations of air toxins over time. Studies show that air toxins are contributing to birth defects, reproductive failure, and disease in animals