Air and water pollution are the two major pollutions experienced in our day-to-day activities. Air pollution entails various contaminants in the atmosphere. Air pollution is well known to affect the human health and environment considerably. Air pollution occurs inform of air gases pollutants or particles that can occur either in limited scales such as indoor air pollutants or can happen in large scales and become an international concern. Some of the gases that have been linked with air pollution include carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen oxide among others (Weather Almanac, 2002).
The major sources of air pollutants are exhaust fumes from automotive and industrial combustions. The current increased use of petroleum products has enhanced air pollution greatly. On the other hand, water Pollution occurs when a lot of water pollutants such as chemicals or organic matter are added to the water. Water pollution can result during rainy season when the surface runoff carries agricultural chemicals and herbicides to neighboring water bodies.
Consequently, water pollution results when industries dispose their waste into water bodies (Green Sowers solutions, n.d). Poor sewerage system is also associated with water pollution and especially in the urban areas. Poor sewerage systems, automotive and industrial wastes are the major causes of water and air pollutions in Bangkok, Bangladeshi and Mexico City.
In many cities worldwide air pollution has been an issue of concern for a very long time. Air pollution has been enhanced by the high increase in population in the 21st century. The Bangkok City the capital city of Thailand is among the cities that have been greatly affected by air pollution as a result of their amplified pollution.Bangkok air pollution is associated with the many vehicles found there. The number of vehicles in Bangkok increased from 600,000 in 1980 to 5,614,294 vehicles by 2007.
Nowadays the number of vehicles in Bangkok has greatly augmented since then. The high number of vehicles in the city has greatly promoted air pollution in the area. Similarly in Bangkok City, water pollution is very widespread. This is because the city does not have appropriate sewerage system. This makes domestic wastes being discharged to public drains without first being treated. The household septic tanks that are found in Bangkok have outlets that drain to public canals or drains.
Moreover, some of the septic tanks found in Bangkok are designed to permit the liquid waste to percolate into the ground. The soil in Bangkok is usually clay soil which has a low permeability order. Similarly, the groundwater table is generally high which results to constant mix of the groundwater and the leaching pit. This makes most of underground waters in Bangkok being contaminated because many people use indoor flush latrines that are linked to septic tanks or leaching pits.
In Bangkok domestic waste is more prevalent than the industrial waste. The reason behind the low industrial water pollution in the region is due to good government intervention measures that have been directed towards Bangkok industries. The government encourages industries to establish their plants outside the Bangkok city. The government does so by offering the industries incentives inform of tax brakes and duty exemption (Bangkok’s strategy to tackle air pollution, n.d).
Air and water pollution in Bangladesh is very prevalent. The households in Bangladesh are noted for their extensive use of bio mass for cooking. The fuel causes a lot of indoor pollution that has greatly enhanced the high prevalence of respiratory illness in the area. Bangladesh is known to have high percentage of water supply that rates at 97%. Most of its water supplied comes from underground water which has nowadays faced a lot of scrutiny as it is linked with high arsenic contamination (World Health Organization, n.d).
The Mexico City is renowned by its history of air quality problems. The poor air quality is as a result of its location which is a plateau that is sandwiched between mountains. Despite the many government interventions in Mexico City such as requiring new automobiles being fitted with pollution control devices such as catalytic converters that reduce the content of sulfur of gasoline, the quality of the air in Mexico City is still below the recommended quality. The Mexico City ecology makes the air in the City being characterized by cool ground air that is trapped by a warmer layer of air.
Despite the high pollution that is linked with the Mexico City, the city is well known for its unpolluted water. The city has good sewerage system and very good water treatment and delivery facilities. The water treatment and sewerage systems in Mexico City resemble those systems found in U.S. The water in the city is first treated in concentrated area before being distributed to every household in the region (Michaels, 2009).
Poor sewerage system, high pollution from industries and automobiles are among the major causes of air and water pollutions in Bangkok, Bangladeshi and Mexico City. Thus, respective governments require installing appropriate mechanism to regulate the problem.
List of References
Bangkok’s strategy to tackle air pollution (n.d). Web.
Green Sowers Solutions (n.d) Water Pollution. Web.
Michaels, P. (2009). Air Pollution in Mexico. Web.
Weather Almanac. (2002). Air and Water Pollution. Web.
World Health Organization (n.d). Sustainable Development & Healthy Environment. Web.