How does air pollution affect our health?
The Air You Breathe Human beings cannot live without air. Their lungs need to fill with air for the body to process and then be released through exhalation. If the air you breathe is polluted, your lungs will react to the pollution. The results can range from chronic infections to lung cancer. Those with existing chronic respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, often find that they are unable to spend time outdoors during certain times of excess pollution. This is due to an inability to get a sufficient amount of clean air into their lungs. The Process of Breathing In a normal exchange during respiration, clean air is breathed in and the oxygen processed. Carbon dioxide is released. Carbon dioxide is harmful to humans. That is why the body uses the gas exchange system, to release the build-up of harmful gases. A large component of polluted air is carbon dioxide. When you breathe in polluted air, you are breathing in the harmful gas your body is meant to release through exhalation. Breath
