Pollution Pictures for Kids

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Here are some very nice pollution pictures for kids. You can turn any of these images into your computer desktop wallpaper. Just click on an image to enlarge it, and then right-click and choose “Set as Desktop Background”.

Pollution over China Blows out to Sea

Here’s an image of pollution in China’s atmosphere. This photo was taken by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). As seen in the photo, the haze from eastern China blows out towards Japan through the East China Sea and the Korean peninsula.

Maracaibo City and Oil Slick, Venezuela

This is an image of oil spills in the Lake Maracaibo mainly due to wastes dumped by ships and pipeline leakages. This photo was taken during the Expedition 14 mission on February 23, 2007. The city of Maracaibo is also visible in the image.

Haze in the Po River Valley, Italy

Here’s a nice view of the haze in Po River Valley in Italy as seen from the International Space Station on September 6, 2006 during the Expedition 13 mission. Po River, where the valley lies is the longest river in Italy.

River Plumes Threaten Great Barrier Reef

This image was captured by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard the Terra satellite on February 9, 2007. The image shows the sediment plumes from the inland rivers carrying land-based pollution.

Shenyang, China

This is a photo of Shenyang, China taken on January 18, 2005 from the International Space Station by the crew member of Expedition 10 mission. The city is a major center for industrialization, mostly concentrated in the dark grey areas of the image. These areas are highly polluted.

We have written many articles about pollution for Universe Today. Here’s an article about light pollution, and here are some pictures of air pollution.

If you’d like more info on pollution, check out Visible Earth Homepage. And here’s a link to NASA’s Earth Observatory.

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about planet Earth. Listen here, Episode 51: Earth.