All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Man has been polluting the atmosphere for two thousand years now
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
The atmosphere began to be polluted by human activity two thousand years ago, during the heyday of the Ancient Roman Empire: it was then that large quantities of lead and other harmful compounds began to enter the air, according to paleoclimatology experts from Harvard University.
"We have received comprehensive information that human activity has been continuously polluting the atmosphere for at least two thousand years. Only periodic decreases in the number of people living on the planet, as well as economic declines, have reduced the level of pollution to levels that are now called "natural," says Dr. Alexander More from the American University of Harvard.
Over the past few years, scientists have been studying in detail the characteristics of human activity and the increase in the number of the earth's population, focusing on how these factors influenced climate and environmental changes before the onset of the newest epochal period. It was the changes that occurred over the past two centuries that led to the onset of so-called global warming and an increase in the content of toxic and harmful compounds in the air, water bodies and soil.
For example, last year scientists discovered that the onset of global warming could have started not in the 1950s, but at the end of the 19th century – during this period, European countries and the United States were at the peak of industrial development.
Historians have also paid attention to other factors and trends in environmental pollution. The population of Ancient Rome and other nations used lead on a massive scale: they made dishes, pipes, household items, etc. Scientists have wondered how the active use of lead could have affected the ecological state of the planet at that time.
The experts conducted research in the Alps, in places where ice had been deposited en masse for many thousands of years. The scientists took samples and determined the lead content in them to assess the impact of the beginning of civilization on the degree of pollution of the Earth.
As it turned out, the air in Europe was polluted for all two thousand years, excluding minor periods of time when human activity was suspended for one reason or another. Thus, the longest period of "stoppage of human activity" was the strongest European epidemic associated with the plague. This epidemic lasted from 1349 to 1353. According to research, at this time lead smelting almost completely stopped, since the plague killed at least 1/3 of the entire population of Europe, which led to the disruption of most trade deals and financial and industrial ties. A similar situation developed in 1460, as well as in 1880 and 1970.
It is possible that lead is not the only toxic element that caused atmospheric pollution. Similar toxic effects were also seen in the processing of mercury and sulfur gases.
[