Air is the prime resource for the sustenance of life on earth. The very existence of life on the earth is because there exists an atmosphere. All types of vegetation and creatures including human beings thrive in the atmosphere in one form or another. For example, human beings need a continuous supply of air almost at the rate of 10-20 cubic meters per day. It can easily be conceived that air not suitable for breathing can make people sick.
The air pollution problem can be depicted as a system consisting of three basic components:
(i) emission sources;
(ii) Transport through atmospheric processes
(iii) receptors.
Receptors receive the harmful impacts of air pollution. The impact on receptors (living entities of the physical environment) can be from short-term to life-threatening and economic losses.