The origin of air pollution on the earth can be traced from the times when man started using firewood as a means of cooking and heating. Hippocrates has mentioned air pollution in 400 BC. With the discovery and increasing use of coal, air pollution became more pronounced especially in urban areas. It was recognized as a problem 700 years ago in London in the form of smoke pollution, which prompted King Edward I to make the first antipollution law to restrict people from using coal for domestic heating in the year 1273. In the year 1300 another Act banning the use of coal was passed. Defying the law led to imposition of capital punishment. In spite of this air pollution became a serious problem in London during the industrial revolution due to the use of coal in industries. The earliest recorded major disaster was the ‘London Smog’ that occurred in 1952 that resulted in more than 4000 deaths due to the accumulation of air pollutants over the city for five days.

In Europe, around the middle of the 19th century, a black form of the Peppered moth was noticed in industrial areas. Usually the normal Peppered moth is well camouflaged on a clean lichen covered tree. However the peppered patternwas easily spotted and picked up by birds on the smoke blackened bark of trees in the industrial area, while the black form remained well camouflaged. Thus  while the peppered patterned moths were successful in surviving in clean non-industrial areas, the black coloured moths were successful in industrial areas. With the spread of industrialization, it has been observed that the black forms are not only see in Peppered moth, but also in many other moths. This is a classic case of pollution leading to adaptation.

Reference : Erach Bharucha, “Enviromental Studies for Undergraduate Courses,”  Chapter5.p113, 2004