Smoke in the Air There are many grounds of complaint
against the English climate ; but the most reasonable, the dirt and fog of our great cities, is largely due to man and not to Nature. It is gratifying to learn, from the twenty-second annual report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on atmospheric pollution, that during the last twenty years the air of Great Britain has become definitely purer ; and for this much gratitude is due to the efforts that have been made to solve the problem of smoke. It is far from solved ; but the improvement shows what could be done if it were attacked seriously. It is impossible to calculate the increase in human health and happiness that would result ; it is known, for instance, that tars and mineral oils in the air cause cancer, lack of sunshine and violet rays anaemia and rickets. At St. Helens, in 1936, there were 447 tons of solid deposits in the air per square mile ; in London (Finsbury Park) 405 tons, or 158 per cent. of the general average. London also has the highest average of sulphur deposits of all the cities. It is certain that one contributory cause at least of such conditions could be controlled ; if domestic coal fires were given up, or smokeless fuel made cheap enough to be generally used, the air of England would be considerably purer. * * *
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