Could "normal" human development lead to a sufficient air pollution to make gas masks mandatory?

I'm starting a story taking place around 2080 AD/CE, and I'm wondering if the key element - global pollution - is plausible.

In my storyline, the XXIst century brings no huge technological advances (I mean nothing truly game-breaking). Mostly increased efficiency in computing power, a few new materials, and global switch to electricity.

Is there some kind of human-generated air pollution that could rise to dangerous levels, so that living outdoors without appropriate protection would be unsafe ? I'm thinking aerosol.

Assuming no big, coordinated action is taken for some decades (politics and global opinion react slowly at first), can such an omnipresent and impactful change occur, and will it take a long time to reverse ?

is a duplicate

This question has been asked before and has already been answered. It should be marked as a duplicate.

Please enter the URL of the proposed duplicate in the details field below.

not constructive

This question cannot be answered in a way that is helpful to anyone. It's not possible to learn something from possible answers, except for the solution for the specific problem of the asker.

Communities

Could "normal" human development lead to a sufficient air pollution to make gas masks mandatory?

0 comment threads

0 answers