Air pollution has become one of the biggest problems throughout the world. Smog has a severe effect on the pulmonary and circulatory systems, which causes a significant number of deaths globally. Therefore, the remediation of air pollutants to maintain ecosystem processes and functions and to improve human health is a crucial problem confronting mankind today. This review aims to discuss the health effects of smog on humans. This review will also focus on the bioremediation of air pollution (smog) using bacteria, fungi, phytoremediation, nanotechnology, and phylloremediation (using plants and microbes). Phyllo-remediation is the most effective technology for removing air pollution naturally. The future perspective presents a great need to produce an ecosystem where microbes, plants, and nanoparticles synergistically control smog. In addition, further advancements would be needed to modify the genetic makeup of microbes and plants. Biotechnological approaches like CRISPR-Cas9 can be applied to the editing and cutting specific genes responsible for the bioremediation of VOCs, NOx, SOx, and harmful hydrocarbons. The extracted genes can then be expressed in biologically modified microorganisms and plants for enhanced bioremediation of smog.

Light pollution of the night sky is a phenomenon increasingly observed around the world and reported in the form of thematic maps. The major contributor to light pollution is ill-adjusted or inappropriately designed artificial lighting by outdoor light sources. The phenomenon occurs mainly over urban areas, but affects both the urban environment and the areas adjacent to it. The problem of excessive artificial light emission at night and the negative effects it causes has already become so serious and global in its impact that effective and comprehensible methods of cartographic presentation of this phenomenon have been explored. The literature on the subject provides examples of how to present the results of measurements of light pollution of the night sky, but these have been developed using different colour scales, often in discretionary ranges and units of measurement. This paper presents an overview of the measurement scales and units found in the literature to describe the phenomenon of light pollution that obscures the night sky. A proposal of the author’s color scale for the presentation of the phenomenon was proposed and shown by example. The differences between measurement scales and how they affect interpretation of results are discussed. Furthermore, a recommendation is made for a standardised method of cartographic visualisation of the spatial distribution and presentation of light smog measurement results.

This study examines the varying performance of low-cost sensors during seasonal smog events, particularly those resulting from solid fuel combustion linked to residential or industrial heating and other pollution sources. A prototype low-cost sensor node developed within this work was collocated for several months with reference equipment at an air quality monitoring station in the city of Ostrava (Moravian-Silesian region, Czech Republic). Deterioration of air quality during a pair of smog alert events, namely wintertime "Polish smog" episode and springtime "Saharan dust storm", which occurred through the extended period of co-location, was characterized quantitatively based on particulate matter and carbon monoxide concentrations measured by the low-cost sensors. These datasets were compared with reference data and model predictions provided by the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service. Selected low-cost sensors demonstrated linear response during Polish smog episode with highly correlated time series of carbon monoxide and particulate matter concentrations. However, when compared to reference data, the Sensirion SPS30 sensor is found to overestimate coarse particle (PM10) concentrations by the factor of two during winter evaluation period. On the other hand, oppositely biased PM10 response (underestimation by the factor of five) was determined from co-location measurement during Saharan dust storm event. This observation was attributed to combination of specific detection efficiency of the given low-cost sensor and shifts in particle size distribution due to seasonal change of ambient conditions.

Gaseous air pollutants emitted from anthropogenic sources are diverse and form secondary products through photochemical reactions, complicating the regulatory analysis of anthropogenic emissions in the atmosphere. Here, we used an environmental chassis dynamometer and a photochemical smog chamber to conduct a parameter sensitivity experiment to investigate the formation of secondary products from a direct-injection gasoline passenger car. To simulate the mitigation of ammonia (NH3) emissions from gasoline vehicle exhausts assuming future emission controls and to allow photochemical oxidation and aging of the vehicle exhaust, NH3 was selectively removed by a series of five denuders installed between the vehicle and the photochemical smog chamber. Overall, there were no differences in the formation of secondary organic aerosols and ozone with or without NH3 mitigation. However, the secondary particle formation potential of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) was significantly reduced with NH3 mitigation. In addition, NH3 mitigation resulted in increased particle phase acidity due to HNO3 in the gas phase not being neutralized by NH3 and condensing onto the liquid particle phase, indicating a potentially important secondary effect associated with NH3 mitigation. The present study provides new insights into the effects of NH3 mitigation on secondary emissions from gasoline vehicle exhaust and the experimental approach.

In order to improve the energy, operational and ecological efficiency of District Heating Systems (DHS) powered by a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant or a Heating Plant, Thermal Energy Storages (TES) should be used. Improvement of energy efficiency is primarily associated with greater operational efficiency of energy generation, improvement of operational efficiency and fewer start-ups and number of operating hours of peak boilers. Improving ecological efficiency is associated with lower emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. The presented paper examines the impact of the use and operation of a TES built in a CHP plant supplying a large DHS on the amount of particulates emission to the atmosphere. Detailed research was carried out for Siekierki-Warsaw and Białystok CHP plants in Poland. The analysis allowed to determine the factors affecting the reduction of pollutant emissions and the volume of the energy effect of using a TES in the CHP plant. In order to objectify the results of the comparative analysis of the impact of TES in CHP plant on the emission of particulates, the so-called Comparative Index (CI) was in-troduced, which takes into account the volume of electricity and heat production and climatic conditions in the analyzed time periods. The CI for the analyzed years, should have a similar value so that the results of the comparative analysis are fully representative. This condition is met for the selected base and comparative year for the CHP plant and DHS of Białystok, so the detailed results of analysis are presented for this facility. As a result of the application of TES in Białystok CHP plant, significant environmental effects related to the reduction of particulates emission have been achieved, for example, the total amount of annual Particulate Matters (PM) emission (PM10 and PM2.5) has been reduced by 27% and the maximum emission by 29%. On the other hand, the average decrease in particulates emission in the heating season varied in the range of 10 - 50%, while in the summer season the values of particulates emission were at a comparable level. A significant decrease in annual and one-hour average concentrations for PM10 and PM2.5 and particulates fallout for these two analyzed years was also found. The use of TES to reduce the occurrence and nuisance of the smog phenomenon, the main components of which are PM, is proposed, and selected models of forecasting concentrations of pollutants in the air, including particulates emission, are presented in order to implement this type of activities.