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(a) Explain how does burning of fossil fuels cause air pollution?
(b) Justify "dust is a pollutant"

a) ​The burning of fossil fuels releases harmful gases like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen into the atmosphere, which are known to be very poisonous gases and are regarded as very harmful pollutants. These gases are also the primary reason for greenhouse effect. Burning of fossil fuels also releases smoke and particulate matter into the atmosphere. It also releases carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Both these gases are greenhouse gases, which cause global warming. 

b) Dusts are fine microscopic particles of solid material such as dry earth or pollen which remains present in air as suspended particles and can cause allergy and other respiratory diseases. Dust can act as the carrier of toxic compounds like heavy metals. Thus it can be said that dust acts as a pollutant.

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Hello Gautham,
I hope my answer can be of some help..

Answer for part (a):
One of the main sources of air pollution is burning fossil fuels like oil, gasoline, and coal. These fossil fuels come from the fossils of ancient plants and animals that lived on earth millions of years ago. Fossil fuels are burned to create energy so that we can drive cars and trucks, fly planes, make electricity, and run factories. Fossil fuels will not last forever, and we are using them up very quickly.

When fossil fuels are burned they create different types of air pollution problems. Besides creating particulate matter, burning fossil fuels creates smog. Smog makes the air look brown and dirty and can make people sick if they spend too much time outside breathing it in. Burning fossil fuels also creates dangerous gases that trap heat from the sun and make the planet too warm. This is called Global Warming and it makes the weather, or climate, change in serious ways. :)

And the answer for part (b):

Dust in homes and offices consists of plant pollen, human and animal hairs, textile fibers, paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, human skin cells, burnt particles and many other materials.
Dust kicked up by vehicles moving on roads make upto 33% air pollution.
Dust and pollution particles mix in the atmosphere and can travel for days across continents and countries before settling on the ground surface, this is termed as Dust pollution.

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