Great Smog of London
December 5, 1952
A cold anticyclone trapped coal smoke over London for five days. Visibility dropped to a few feet; buses crept behind men with lanterns. Perhaps twelve thousand Londoners died of respiratory failure, more than anyone realized at the time. The disaster prompted the Clean Air Act of 1956 and began the modern regulation of air pollution.
Related events
1952OceaniaWar
First hydrogen bomb test
November 1, 1952Modern Era
1952EuropePolitics
Elizabeth II ascends the British throne
February 6, 1952Modern Era
1952Middle EastPolitics
Nasser's Free Officers seize Egypt
July 23, 1952Modern Era
1960South AmericaDisaster
Great Chilean Earthquake
May 22, 1960Modern Era
1943South AsiaDisaster
Bengal famine kills three million
July 1943Modern Era
1965North AmericaDisaster
Northeast blackout
November 9, 1965Modern Era