Editing Smog (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
====London====
[[File:LondonSmog.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[London]] was notorious for its thick smogs, or "[[Pea soup fog|pea-soupers]]", a fact that is often recreated (as here) to add an air of mystery to a period [[costume drama]]]]

In 1306, concerns over air pollution were sufficient for [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] to (briefly) ban coal fires in London.<ref name="middleages3"/> In 1661, [[John Evelyn]]'s ''[[Fumifugium]]'' suggested burning fragrant wood instead of mineral coal, which he believed would reduce coughing. The "[[s: Ballad of Gresham College|Ballad of Gresham College]]" the same year describes how the smoke "does our lungs and spirits choke, Our hanging spoil, and rust our iron."

Severe episodes of smog continued in the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly in the winter, and were nicknamed "pea-soupers," from the phrase "as thick as pea soup". The [[Great Smog of 1952]] darkened the streets of London and killed approximately 4,000 people in the short time of four days (a further 8,000<ref name="EHP_112_1">{{cite journal |doi=10.1289/ehp.6539 |title=A Retrospective Assessment of Mortality from the London Smog Episode of 1952: The Role of Influenza and Pollution |year=2003 |last1=Bell |first1=Michelle L. |last2=Davis |first2=Devra L. |last3=Fletcher |first3=Tony |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |volume=112 |pages=6–8 |pmid=14698923 |issue=1 |pmc=1241789}}</ref> died from its effects in the following weeks and months). Initially, a [[flu]] [[epidemic]] was blamed for the loss of life.

In 1956 the [[Clean Air Act 1956|Clean Air Act]] started legally enforcing [[smokeless zone]]s in the capital. There were areas where no soft coal was allowed to be burned in homes or in businesses, only [[coke (fuel)|coke]], which produces no smoke. Because of the smokeless zones, reduced levels of sooty particulates eliminated the intense and persistent London smog.

It was after this that the great clean-up of London began. One by one, historical buildings which, during the previous two centuries had gradually completely blackened externally, had their stone facades cleaned and restored to their original appearance. Victorian buildings whose appearance changed dramatically after cleaning included the [[British Museum of Natural History]]. A more recent example was the [[Palace of Westminster]], which was cleaned in the 1980s. A notable exception to the restoration trend was [[10 Downing Street]], whose bricks upon cleaning in the late 1950s proved to be naturally ''yellow''; the smog-derived black color of the façade was considered so iconic that the bricks were painted black to preserve the image.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Christopher|title=10 Downing Street: The Story of a House|date=1985|publisher=The Leisure Circle|isbn=978-0563204411|pages=[https://archive.org/details/no10downingstree0000jone/page/154 154–55]|url=https://archive.org/details/no10downingstree0000jone/page/154}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Minney|first1=R. J.|title=No. 10 Downing Street: A House in History|date=1963|publisher=Little, Brown & Co.|location=Boston|pages=429–33}}</ref> Smog caused by traffic pollution, however, does still occur in modern London.

====Other areas====
[[File:07 01 2020 - VERONA SMOG - prefiltro (filtro cappa antigrasso, grease filter hood) su VMC (ventilazione meccanizzata controllata) dopo 4 giorni (parte bianca coperta da nastro adesivo) - 2020 01 07 - photo Paolo Villa.png|thumb|Grease filter hood after 4 days at Italian city polluted air in winter (all surface was white)]]
Other areas of the United Kingdom were affected by smog, especially heavily industrialised areas.

The cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, in Scotland, suffered smoke-laden fogs in 1909. Des Voeux, commonly credited with creating the "smog" moniker, presented a paper in 1911 to the Manchester Conference of the Smoke Abatement League of Great Britain about the fogs and resulting deaths.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.grida.no/geo/GEO/Geo-3-010.htm | title = The Great Smog Of 1952 | publisher = The Met Office | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194334/http://www.grida.no/geo/GEO/Geo-3-010.htm | archive-date = 29 October 2013 }}</ref>

One [[Birmingham]] resident described near black-out conditions in the 1900s before the Clean Air Act, with visibility so poor that cyclists had to dismount and walk to stay on the road.<ref>{{Cite journal | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/10/a4914010.shtml | publisher = [[BBC]] |title = When smog was a frequent occurrence | journal = WW2 People's War | date = 10 August 2005 | access-date = 3 August 2006 }}</ref>

On 29 April 2015, the [[UK Supreme Court]] ruled that the government must take immediate action to cut air pollution,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32512152 |title=Court orders UK to cut NO2 air pollution |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=29 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015}}</ref> following a case brought by environmental lawyers at ClientEarth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.clientearth.org/news/press-releases/uk-supreme-court-orders-government-to-take-immediate-action-on-air-pollution-2843 |title=UK Supreme Court orders Government to take "immediate action" on air pollution |publisher=ClientEarth |date=29 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505041213/http://www.clientearth.org/news/press-releases/uk-supreme-court-orders-government-to-take-immediate-action-on-air-pollution-2843 |archive-date=5 May 2015 }}</ref>