The term ‘smog’ is a combination of ____________.
Smoke and fog
The word smog is a portmanteau — a word formed by blending two other words. It is built from SMoke + fOG, so the correct combination is smoke and fog. The term was coined in the early 1900s to describe the choking mixture of coal smoke and natural fog that blanketed industrial cities.
Smog is not a single substance but a form of severe air pollution that reduces visibility and irritates the eyes and respiratory tract. There are two classic types:
- Sulphurous (London-type) smog: forms in cold, humid conditions when smoke and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) from burning coal combine with fog. The 1952 Great Smog of London is the best-known example.
- Photochemical (Los Angeles-type) smog: forms in warm, sunny weather when nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vehicle exhaust react in sunlight to produce ground-level ozone and other oxidants.
The distractors describe combinations that are not the origin of the word. Fog and clouds and smoke and haze each capture only one element (the moisture part or the smoke part) but not the true smoke-plus-fog blend, and smog and mist is circular because it reuses the word 'smog' itself. Hence the only accurate answer is smoke and fog.
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Important Questions from Ecology and Environment
In India, Project Tiger started in ________.
The process of wastewater treatment is commonly called ______ treatment.
Which of the following is NOT abiotic?
In which of the following states is the Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary situated?
Which district has been awarded the Plastic Waste Management Award -2020 for being the best district of India in the plastic waste management category during Swachhta Hi Seva 2019?
