From Rome to Beijing, the Air Has Never Been Clear
In December 2015, Beijing issued a red alert, shuttering schools and restricting cars as pollution soared to ten times the WHO’s recommended limit. But this wasn’t new. From ancient cities to modern megacities, polluted air has been a fixture of human life—recorded in classical texts, legal documents, Arctic ice, and even mummified lungs.
Rome’s Infamous Air and Early Legal Action
Two thousand years ago, Roman citizens described their air as “gravioris caeli”—a heavy heaven. Philosopher Seneca wrote of feeling immediate relief after leaving Rome’s smoky streets.
Roman courts even heard pollution complaints. Jurist Aristo ruled that shopkeepers could not let smoke billow into homes above. In 535 AD, Emperor Justinian declared clean air a common right of humanity—an early proclamation of environmental law.
Coal, Conquest, and the Rise of Industry
By 1200, wood was scarce in London, and people turned to coal. Complaints began in the 13th century, but bans repeatedly failed.
When Spanish conquistadors mined silver in Bolivia in 1572, they used lead-based amalgamation techniques, releasing metal plumes now traceable in Peruvian ice cores. As steam power and coal drove the Industrial Revolution, smoke grew denser. In 1800, only six cities had over 500,000 people. By 1900, that number had risen to 43.
Smog, Cars, and Clean Air Laws
By the 20th century, dense smogs blanketed industrial cities. The invention of the automobile brought new pollutants. Los Angeles, home to over a million cars by 1940, experienced its first smog crisis in 1943. In 1948, a deadly smog in Donora, Pennsylvania killed 20 people and sickened thousands.
In 1952, London’s Great Smog caused around 4,000 deaths. These events pushed governments to act. The UK passed the Clean Air Act in 1956. The U.S. followed with major legislation in 1963, 1965, and a sweeping law in 1970.
A Global Problem with No Borders
Since the 1970s, Western nations have made strides in reducing pollution. But globally, the issue persists. In 2012, the WHO attributed seven million premature deaths to air pollution.
Smog once called “night at noon” now chokes cities from Delhi to Karachi. As industrial activity moves, so does the burden. Today’s dirty air carries the weight of centuries and remains one of the world’s most persistent threats to health.
