Looking back: pollution

Smog masks have become all the rage in London due to the life threatening levels of air pollution with result in severe smog or ‘pea soupers,’ 1953. Photograph: Juliette Lasserre/Getty Images

12 August 1869

At a meeting held in Newcastle, industrialist Sir William Armstrong claimed he stood up just as much for those who suffered from smoke as those who produced it.

A view over the industrial city of Manchester, circa 1865. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

22 April 1926

Pollution forces Foundling Hospital out of London: the capital’s first home for babies whose mothers were unable to care for them fears air quality has worsened because of the railways.

South view of the Foundling Hospital in 1749, now the site of Coram’s Fields. Photograph: Alamy

15 November 1927

Polluted rivers are a national problem: a central authority to control inland waters must be a priority for the government.

River Dee, 1940. Photograph: Walter Doughty or Tom Stuttard/taken from the Newsroom

24 April 1957

Bank holiday litter in the Lake District: cigarette packets, sweet papers, and torn newspaper were as plentiful as ever over the Easter weekend.

Bathers at Windermere in the Lake District, 1968. Photograph: L V. Clark/Getty Images

30 January 1959

Pollution in London higher than during the Great Smog: conditions described as “very grim” by the AA, with visibility in south-east London varying between nil and 10 yards.

8 May 1965

After-burners urged for car fumes in Leeds: the Junior Chamber of Commerce, appalled at the “drab and satanic” appearance of Leeds because of atmospheric pollution.

29 September 1971

Silent electric car for cities: the Electricity Council says that electric cars are clean, silent, reliable, and make a valuable contribution to reducing pollution.

The Enfield 8000, the first electric car to go into production since the Second World War, circa 1971. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

7 September 1984

Acid rain must be tackled now, say MPs: Commons committee calls on Central Electricity Generating Board to take action.

Smoke billows from chimneys at a chemical factory in China. Photograph: Ryan Tong/EPA

31 October 1995

First ozone hole found over Arctic: meteorologists and atmospheric chemists have watched in alarm as a similarly explosive mixture to the Antarctic vortex has been assembled in the Arctic.

Holes in the ozone layer have been found in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Photograph: Alamy

8 June 2018

Photo gallery: the week in plastic.

A plastic bag hangs on the horns of a cow as it sifts through rubbish for food ahead of World Environment Day in New Delhi, India, 3 June 2018. Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA