Gasping for breath, when a city almost asphyxiated
On this day in (engineering) history… The Great London Smog, December 5, 1952 Step outdoors on the evening of December 5, 1952 and you will be met by a fog; a sickly, yellow brown fog so thick that in places, such as east London’s Isle of Dogs, people couldn’t see their feet. Over the coming days, it is so dark, you spot policemen using flares to see around them and provide a point of reference for traffic and pedestrians. Soon, you feel your eyes, throat and lungs develop a burning sensation. You start coughing and struggle to breathe. The next day is the same, and the next. The smog will remain stuck over large swathes of London for the next four days. The winter of 1952 was particularly cold . This day opened with a chill bite in the air, clear skies, light winds and moist air at ground…