On a December morning in 1952, London disappeared beneath a blanket of dirty yellow fog. Visibility fell to only a few metres in places, public transport struggled and familiar streets became difficult to navigate. The air was not simply damp and murky. It was loaded with smoke, gases and particles from thousands of chimneys, trapped close to the ground by an unusual weather pattern. As reported by the Met Office, the smog lingered from 5 to 9 December, turning a familiar winter nuisance into a public health disaster. About 4,000 deaths were initially linked to the episode, although later estimates put the toll considerably higher. Four years later, Parliament passed the Clean Air Act 1956, introducing measures that began to change how smoke and coal burning were controlled in Britain's towns and cities.
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