Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
thermal pollution
References
Images & Videos
Infographic illustrating sources and effects of air, land, and water pollution, with labeled arrows showing pollutants from industry, vehicles, and agriculture entering the environment, plus sections on plastic, noise, light, and thermal pollution with causes and issues.
Major types of pollution explained
Britannica AI Icon

thermal pollution

Also known as: heat pollution
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Infographic illustrating sources and effects of air, land, and water pollution, with labeled arrows showing pollutants from industry, vehicles, and agriculture entering the environment, plus sections on plastic, noise, light, and thermal pollution with causes and issues.
Pollution The major kinds of pollution, usually classified by environment, are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Modern society is also concerned about specific types of pollutants, such as noise pollution, thermal pollution, light pollution, and plastic pollution.

Thermal pollution is the discharge of heated liquid, such as wastewater from a factory, into natural waters at a temperature harmful to the environment. It can also refer to the addition of heat to a cool environment, often caused by water or air used as cooling fluids in power plants and manufacturing.12

This heated cooling water can be significantly hotter than the natural water bodies, leading to increased metabolic rates in fish and reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen available in the water. In severe instances, the temperature can be high enough to cause burns to animal tissues. The term "thermal pollution" was first used in 1966.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. thermal pollution
  2. What Are the Different Types of Pollution?

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.