These are the main causes of air pollution

Air Pollutant	Source
Smoke, fumes and dust	Open burning Motor vehicles Industrial factories and sites Mining areas
Carbon Monoxide	Motor vehicles
Sulfur Dioxide	Burning of coal and rubbish Sulfuric acid producing factories
Nitorgen Oxide	Open burning Factories producing nitirc acid
Lead	Use of leaded petrol
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) gases	Spray aerosols Refrigerators
Radioactive wastes	Nuclear testing Mishaps, e.g. the Chernobyl disaster

Health Problems	Common air pollutants cause respiratory problems, skin and eye problems. Radiocative wastes cause cells to die, and abnormal growth of cells which could result in cancer.
Food problems	Layers of dust cover green leaves, preventing the rays of the sun from reaching the leaves, thus lessening the photosynthesis process. Without food, these plants will die. Green plants are the souces of all food chains and their destruction will affect us too.
Acid rain	Acidic gases such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide can evaporate and condense in clouds or dissolve in rainwater, forming acid rain. Acid rain will damage buildings, crops and many other things. Acid rainwater will collect in rivers causing the deaths of aquatic life.
Earth's rising temperature	When plants die (mentioned two spaces above), there will be less oxygen and more carbon dioxide, as green plants producing oxygen through photosynthesis become fewer. Carbon dioxide acts as an insulator, preventing Earth's heat from being relased into space, causing the greenhouse effect. Our world will become hotter, melting ice at the North and South Poles. This will bring sea levels higher and cause low-lying areas to perish, flooded by water.
Ozone depletion	Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases destroy the ozone layer, a blanket of gas in the atmosphere preventing direct sunlight, containing ultra-violet (UV) rays. These rays may cause cancer and eye problems. You will have to use your sun-block and sunglasses even more for protection. A tan won't be a tan for fun anymore!

How can we handle air pollution?