the Mayor of Londonís recollection
of London smog
Anyone who was living in London at the time will remember the great
smog of December 1952.
For those like me who were children at the time, itís main impact was that
we didnít have to go to school for a few days. The fog was simply so thick
that parents were advised not to risk letting their children get lost on the
way to school, unless it was literally round the corner. When my parents
went out they had to cover their nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
For many other Londoners, particularly the elderly, the effects of the
1952 smog were far more severe. Up to 4,000 people are estimated to
have died prematurely.
The cause was a mixture of industrial pollution and domestic coal
burning. Back then virtually no-one had central heating, relying instead
on coal fires.
In response to the 1952 smog, the Government passed legislation to
phase out coal fires, which meant initially many people transferred to
paraffin heaters, until central heating became more widespread.
There was a good deal of discontent and people were resistant to change.
I have to say that I was quite pleased because it was my job to go out and
clean the fire out in the morning ó raking out all the bits of unburned
coal to save them for the next fire.
Looking back 50 years I canít imagine there are many people now who
donít recognise that this was the right policy.