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Against the figure of 4,703 deaths for the week ending December
13th the figure for the corresponding week of 1951 was 1,852.
New sickness claims under National Insurance for London
and Middlesex show a similar rise to a peak figure as also do the
applications for hospital beds under the Emergency Bed Service.
This increase in applications for hospital beds was mainly due to
the increased incidence of respiratory and cardiac disorders.
Animal health also suffered during the same period and prize
cattle at the Smithfield Show died or had to be slaughtered, and
it is significant that those animals which survived made a marked
recovery as soon as the fog dispersed.
Plant life too, according to the Director of the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew, was adversely affected.
Apart from these direct losses there were the more indirect
ones which arose from traffic delays, damage and soiling of business
stock and the additional cleansing of premises and furnishings
which became necessary.
A combination of factors was responsible for the fog. An
anticyclonic or high pressure system had established itself over
London accompanied by very calm conditions. At the same time
there was a temperature inversion—i.e., the comparatively cold
air at ground and low levels was overlaid by a belt of warmer air
at higher levels, with the result that the smoke and moisture
laden air was unable to disperse.
Much still remains to be accomplished towards the attainment
of cleaner air and the National Smoke Abatement Society, of
which the Council are corporate members, has not only been a
pioneer in its efforts in this direction but has constantly striven
to this end.
More and more smokeless sources of heat and power are required,
e.g., gas and electricity; more smokeless solid fuels,
particularly coke, produced by the low temperature carbonization
process which is more easily ignited in existing domestic grates;
more efficient appliances for consuming the fuels available.
Other requisites include the requirement of prior approval for
heating installations in new industrial and commercial buildings;
the establishment of more smokeless zones; more widespread training
of stokers in the efficient and smokeless firing of boilers and
furnaces; the change-over from steam railway locomotives to some
other smokeless form of traction.
A standard grit deposit gauge was installed in 1952 in order
that measurements could be taken in collaboration with the
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