Fog was nothing new in London, though it had never been seen at such extremes before <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
There had been some paltry efforts to clean up the city\u2019s air, but in 1952 coal fires still burned across London \u2013 and as that year\u2019s winter was unseasonably cold, even more coal was tossed into people\u2019s fireplaces. To make matters worse, on 5 December an anticyclone spun above London, trapping the smoke that was pouring out of the city\u2019s chimneys and preventing it from dissipating in the atmosphere. This pressure cooker boiled over to create the most polluted smog in London\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Read more | 6 of the most catastrophic weather events in British history<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
During the five days that it blanketed the city, normal life came screeching to a halt. The city\u2019s transportation system largely fell apart; cars littered the roads, having been abandoned by their owners. Crime rates soared, with miscreants taking advantage of the chaos.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, pollutants continued to pour into the atmosphere. Each day during the Great Smog, 1,000 tonnes of smoke particles, 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 140 tonnes of hydrochloric acid, 14 tonnes of fluorine compounds and 370 tonnes of sulphur dioxide were pumped into the sky. Unsurprisingly, breathing in this mix was very dangerous \u2013 and for at least 4,000 people, it soon proved fatal. A 33-year-old woman from St Pancras who previously suffered from chest pains lost her life on 9 December, with a report stating: \u201cThe fog would appear to have accelerated death, as the sudden deterioration in [her] condition was apparently unexpected by the doctor in attendance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/h4>\n
Even indoors, there was\u00a0no escaping the smog engulfing the city. On the evening of Monday 8 December, a performance of\u00a0La Traviata<\/em> at the Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre had to be abandoned after smog seeped in and obscured the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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How was the Great Smog fixed?<\/h2>\n
Animals were also adversely affected. The media reported that more than 100 cattle at the Smithfield Show (an agricultural fair at Earl\u2019s Court) had to be seen by a vet as a result of breathing in the fumes, with 12 being subsequently put down. A man named LF Beccle wrote to the Ministry of Health: \u201cI would have shared the fate of the Aberdeen Angus cattle at the Smithfield Show, for whom I had great sympathy and fellow feeling. I could not move for four days without the greatest distress\u2026 I must have been very bad indeed one night, for my wife actually held my hand and said she was sorry for me! That is proof enough that I looked as if I was going to kick the bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n
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