Skip to main content

Story: Atmosphere

Carbon dioxide pollution

Image
Carbon dioxide pollution

The most common greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which is released during the burning of fossil fuels – such as driving a petrol-powered car. Burning forests (to use the land for crops or pasture) also adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is invisible, but when fuels are burned, soot and nitrogen dioxide are also produced. Together they account for the brown haze associated with urban pollution.

Using this item

New Zealand Herald

Reference: New Zealand Herald, 4 May 2005

by Paul Estcourt

Permission of the New Zealand Herald must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Bill Allan, Katja Riedel, Richard McKenzie, Sylvia Nichol and Tom Clarkson, Atmosphere – Greenhouse gases, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6143/carbon-dioxide-pollution (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bill Allan, Katja Riedel, Richard McKenzie, Sylvia Nichol and Tom Clarkson, published 2 March 2009.