How the Great London Smog of 1952 killed thousands - Witness History, BBC World Service

Seventy years ago, thick polluted smog descended on London bringing the city to a standstill and leading to the deaths of an estimated 4,000 people.

The Great Smog of London lasted for four days. In response the government passed the Clean Air Act of 1956 to reduce the use of smoky fuels such as coal.

Witness History spoke to Dr Brian Commins, who worked for the Medical Research Council's Air Pollution Unit set up at St. Bartholomew's hospital in London in the 1950s.

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[razork]

Incredible. This was only 72 years ago. It feels like we are light years away from that era.

[stephenholmgren]

Here from The Crown, i can't believe thousands died

[JoySwiatnik]

My mum was also a midwife during the great smog. She remembers how helpful the blind people were in helping people including the emergency services.

[Trund]

My mother survived this. She was a registered nurse/midwife at the Royal Northern Hospital on Holloway Road. It was horrific. She herself got really sick from the smog.

[misterakt]

The Crown did an excellent job portraying this in one of their early episodes. Yeah some of it was fabricated (Churchill's secretary never existed), but it seemed very realistic. If I remember right, they actually reenacted a few scenes from this very newsreel footage for it!

[Nayasmih]

Pov you just started watching the crown

[mikeyd]

I live in Western Canada we are smothered in Wildfire smoke coupled with 37 degree Celsius heat. It is sickening many people. I couldn’t image those folks feeling any different. What a world 😢

[vancepomerening]

Not as serious but a very similar pollution event happened in Donora, Pennsylvania in 1948.

[judithbg]

Yes, I was in grammar school. Walked down the street with my arm stretched in front of me, in case I bumped into someone. Also biked to school, in terror hearing an invisible bus rumbling up the hill behind me!

[garryferrington]

And also: there was no reason this couldn't have been prevented by copying what New York City did earlier in the century: eliminate burning coal!

[Thessalonians-kgpf]

Southport's always sending airplanes from the army base over the northwest when the sky is too blue & within 2 hours its all grey. They are doing it again soon.

[vinodKumar-jkfn]

I am a fan of BBC but unable to understand English subtitle. Request also hindi subtitle. Please favour us.

[diannshoemaker]

Actually, old movies of an even older Victorian Era, showed the frequent, but at the time typical London Fog. At the time it was portrayed as a phenomenon of nature. Now i doubt that. But then, why isn't it mention here, if it wasn't ???

[PaulTuck-od]

Smokers had their own little chimney exhaling even more noxious pollution..

[irigm]

I come to know about this from environmental science book.

[lokesh]

Air Pollution means to say Clean Energy Solutions.

[garryferrington]

This was predicted in the novel "The Doom of London" in 1900 (available free online.) Even then, they knew it was coming: today, we have people pooh-poohing the onsetting climate disaster.

[carlkuss]

Lucky it's not like this now (although if you believe sadiq you'd think it is) how would you find all the stabbing victims when you can't see through the smog.

[jacksmith-muee]

India pakistan be like : every year

China : we defeated smog without even trying

[taka-taktak]

In Delhi there's this kind of pollution without the industrialisation 🥴