I woke up to dense fog today

it reminded me of English weather

back in the days when coal was burned

in homes factories and power stations

the smoke from burned coal

would react with the fog

to create a dense blanket called smog

it was real health hazard

many people suffered respiratory distress

driving was very dangerous

as visibility was severely reduced

multiple pile ups were common

I remember walking to school in the smog

with a scarf over my face

struggling to see across the road

suffering smog induced asthma attacks

it was particularly bad in cities

the fog also trapped vehicle emissions

it could hang around for days

you could easily get lost in it

George Gershwin wrote a song about it

a foggy day in London town

some perceived foggy days as romantic

describing them as pea soupers

during the great London smog of 1952

more than 10,000 people died

and many more got sick

it was a huge environmental disaster

eventually the government woke up

coal burning was gradually fazed out

smog has since become less dense

Starbucks now sell tea lattes called London fog