It is a tough call between air pollution and water pollution. Both are directly devastating to human beings.

all of them

Each one leads to others

I think air and water pollutions.

All should be avoided

Air

Air and water because of the ability to be dispersed over long distances

They are all devastating. More devastating? Water pollution because its repercussions is greater than all.

Every pollution has adverse effects on human, plants and environment. It will not be right to say that a particular pollution type is less or more devastating........in comparison to other pollution types.

All types of pollution – air, water and soil pollution – have an impact on the living environment. To compare the the impact you need a quantitative criterion.

As rightly stated by all of the commentators above, pollution of any environmental attribute is a serious matter of concern.

But, in terms of monitoring, controlling and remediation, soil pollution may be considered as the most severe due to practical difficulties and long term attenuation in soil and transformation and movement of pollutants to groundwater.

I believe that all pollution has adverse effects on ecosystem (water, plant, soil, air and human), thus it is so difficult to say that a particular pollution type is enrich or deplete devastating.

Though the three are disastrous to man and the entire ecosystem, but if am to make it a point of discussion or debate; Air pollution is more harmful. Recently, the world health organization (WHO, 2016) has frown at the emergence of cities in Africa (Onitsha, Kaduna, Kampala, Dakar, Bemenda and Hartebeesport) as some of the most polluted place in the world, having recorded more than the maximum permissible limit for particulate matters (PM10s) of “20μg/m3” in it ambient air pollution database. This poor air quality causes thousands of death yearly in both developed and developing nations.This has presented much concern to Environmentalist as man hardly is in control of the kind of air he or she breath, but has full control of the water he uses and the land he inhabit.

All three are just as bad. Each source can pollute the other sources.

Thanks for your answers.

As all of us know, all kind of pollution are harmful for human and nature, and we should try to find convenient methods to repel them.

Environmental pollution of any kind is a serious threat to human health and has the potential of taking precious lives no matter the affected environmental matrix (i. e air, water or soil). The method of attenuation of pollution in the environment depends on the nature of pollution and therefore, environmentalists would normally design the approach of attenuation depending on the nature and extent of pollution. It would therefore, be unnecessary and in fact, fruitless in trying to determine

Which pollution type is more devastating, air, water or land without further information. For instance once a group of people inhale any toxic or poisonous susbstance/chemical from their immediate environment, it enters into the system and begins to affect vital human organs which could lead to death. Also if a group of people drink contaminated water from their immediate environment, this could also lead to food poisoning and therefore, devastating. In the case of soil pollution however, even though we do not eat soil directly, if the soil is used for agriculture in the near future, plants take up this contamination from the polluted soil and this gets into the food products which is finally eaten by humans and therefore taken up via the food web, thus, life threatening as well (even though after sometime). In conclusion, Environmental pollution of any kind is a serious threat to human life and therefore, should not be underestimated no matter matrix.

Continue addition without any treatment of toxic substancec to environment is a big problem for human health. I think all type of pollution are devastating . Rapid effect is observed through air and water.

Well, you need all of them in good quality to have a good health and live well. But I think what you will need to adress is the level of pollution you can tolerate to support life. Here in Mexico City for example Air pollution is dramatic and Air quality is not so good but you can live with. The same can apply with land pollution because is even easier to contain than air or water pollution. So, I think, saying that is also irresponsible to pollute the others, that water pollution seems to have more davastating effects, not taking into acount viruses or toxics substance tha can be devastating in eather water, soil or air.

But, in fact you need allways to give tratment to water to use it, if it is not pristine.

Sincerely, all types of pollution are deleterious in the generally ecosystem. However, air and water are considered to be more desstrous to because this is the only route through which man can ingest or breath in; if therefore they are contaminated/polluted, man being the ultimate custodial of the natural environment will be adversely affected as a result.

I think at first water/land and finally air

Air pollution due to the following and limited:

-A person inhales approximately 30 m3(or 35 pounds) of air per day

- Roughly 6 times more than the food and drink consumed per day

- Exposure to air pollutants is continuous (and, usually, involuntary)

This is a very crucial question and needs to be seriously understood.

Any type of pollution irrespective of the source is harmful. How harmful it is, is very well explained by Collins Tay in his answer.

Environmental engineering point of view briefly I want to add:

The treatment given by us for curbing water pollution is not 100% i.e we apply solids separation processes - it could be sedimentation or flotation or filtration and so on... From the wastewater the solids are removed but the solids are required to be disposed of : Where do I dispose them of ? and in doing so I am polluting land. Take the case of air pollution- the particulate matter and gaseous pollution is curbed using separator fabrics electrostatic precipitator etc. The pollutants after absorption or adsorption are forming land pollution. Now when I am giving treatment to solid wastes i.e curbing land pollution, the solid wastes (it may be ashes from the gaseous pollution, solids from water or wastewater treatment and others produced by the society) are dumped at landfills after appropriate treatment. However with the passage of time the pollutants contained in the landfill get way and pollute underground water. Water is again polluted. If the solid or medical waste is burnt in the incinerator, the gaseous pollution is created.

To tell you honestly, the treatment to environment pollution does not exist. We as technocrats or consultants only change the form of pollution.

Any amount of pollution is harmful and every type of pollution in a long way is extremely dangerous to eco-system.

I think air pollution which will destroy every second of a human life.

logically Collins Tay and Dr Sheth are proving that any type of pollution is detrimental

No treatment to pollution is possible we are changing the form of it.

In the Pollutants cycle, all types of pollution ( air, water and soil pollution)  have an impact on our environment by a lot of Chemical, physical and biological mechanisms

Thanks a lot for your responses.

Thanks a lot.

The air. This is because all of us need to breath for oxygen and it is surrounding us. But, microbes need food and this is not available every time in the air.

So, there are some limitations. The concenteration and the kind of pollutants (contaminants; biotic or/and abiotic) are the main factors. The speed of the diffussion of pollutants and the ease of contact. Thus, in your ?, the carrier (air) is closer to us than water and land.

So, we can put the answer according to this order:

air > water > land "soils"

All the best

Pollution is pollution, can't ignore any one : Air-Water-Land. These 3 are important in their own way in our life. Every year World Environment Day is celebrated to highlight the problems due to various types of pollution and also to sensitize the people on the importance of cleaner environment. However much more is required than this one day event. Every individual is to be held responsible for a cleaner and better environment.

Each type of pollution leads to the other

Best Regards @ Makinde E. O.

@ Dr. Makinde E. O.

Undoubtedly air pollution is the most devastating pollution type causing worldwide mortality. An estimated 7 million deaths every year are linked to ambient air pollution, mainly from heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and respiratory infections, including pneumonia. Please take a look at the following references for more details.

Article Global premature mortality due to anthropogenic outdoor air ...

Article Air Pollution as a Significant Cause of Diseases and Prematu...

Article Effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on natural-ca...

Article The global burden of disease due to outdoor air pollution

Article The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and l...

Article Mortality and air pollution in Beijing: The long-term relationship

Article Air pollution as a risk factor for lung cancer

Article Air pollution: A potentially modifiable risk factor for lung cancer

Article Short term exposure to air pollution and stroke: Systematic ...

Article Effects of Air Pollutants on Acute Stroke Mortality

Article Effect of Air Pollution on Incidence of Asthma: A Case Study...

Article Is air pollution of the 20th century a cause of current asth...

Article Impact of air pollution on respiratory diseases in children ...

Article Ambient air pollution: A cause of COPD

Article Urban air pollution and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseas...

Article Robust relationship between air quality and infant mortality in Africa

Article Air Pollution Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease

Article Air Pollution and Type 2 Diabetes

Article Effect of environmental air pollution on type 2 diabetes mellitus

Article Long-term air pollution exposure and diabetes in a populatio...

Article Air pollution and the skin

Thanks!

Water pollution occurs when unwanted materials enter in to water, changes the quality of water and harmful to environment and human health . Water is an important natural resource used for drinking and other developmental purposes in our lives . Safe drinking water is necessary for human health all over the world. Being a universal solvent, water is a major source of infection. According to world health organization (WHO) 80% diseases are water borne. Drinking water in various countries does not meet WHO standards . 3.1% deaths occur due to the unhygienic and poor quality of water .

Polluted BRAIN is the source of spread of all kind of pollution.

How it can be cured?

Once human brain becomes polluted by brain washing or wrong concept development, it perhaps become permanent.

These people with such polluted brain getting power and doing most of the nuisances without considering those as bad.

Water pollution is a global issue and world community is facing worst results of polluted water. Major sources of water pollution are discharge of domestic and agriculture wastes, population growth, excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers and urbanization. Bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases are spreading through polluted water and affecting human health. It is recommended that there should be proper waste disposal system and waste should be treated before entering in to river. Educational and awareness programs should be organized to control the pollution.

All types of environmental pollution have many negative effects on nature and man. Pollution of various spheres, types of environments is negative and interrelated, because pollution, e.g. from air through rainfall, causes contamination of land water, water in seas and oceans, soil pollution, etc. Waste from which harmful substances are released penetrates into soils, then into waters, rivers and seas. Pollutants penetrate into the living organisms of flora and fauna and then into the human body, etc. Differentiation of various spheres, environments that are contaminated with waste, garbage, dust emanating from chimneys, greenhouse gases, pesticides in arable fields, etc. may relate to, for example, the possibilities of degraded reclamation civilized and polluted specific land areas, inland water, sea water, air, etc., and the scale and types of harmful chemical compounds polluting specific environments and their characteristics of natural decay in the environment, the scale of biodegradability or non-biodegradability, negative impact on various life forms, impact on specific ecosystems causing major changes in the species structure of biological ecosystems, etc.

Greetings,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

Air

Because

you can stay without food for almost for a month

without water for few days

but without air only for few minutes.

You cannot carry air with you. You have to breath without interruption.

Water for sure!

Hello Dr Makinde E. O.

Air pollution is the most devastating because there is a positive correlation between pneumonia-related deaths and air pollution.

The World Health Organization estimated that every year air pollution causes the premature death of some 7 million people worldwide

Best regards

Fatah BOUTELDJAOUI

I agree with Dr. F. Bouteldjaoui air pollution is the most devastating type as it linked to lung cancer and pneumonia, then water pollution comes in the second and soil contamination/pollution comes in third.

It is reported that air pollution is the most devastating pollution type throughout worldwide and increasing mortality rate by different diseases causes by polluted air..

I have a similar opinion that already mentioned by Dr. Dariusz

Air

All., because they are all connected.

Everyone is connected with each other, but air pollution is of particular importance as it is the main source of its longevity.

I also believe that the devastating effects of air pollution are more pronounced and easily felt than the other forms of pollution. Almost all the residents in an environment where the air is polluted would have to pay dearly for the consequences of the pollution as there will be no alternatives clean air to breathe for everyone unless quick actions are taken to correct the problem. But in some other pollution cases; say water pollution, residents might still be able to maneuver their ways in providing alternative clean water from other locations atleast while the problem last.

I agree with Manal Hadi Kanaan