By R. Dennis Hayes From Discover magazine, March 1993, pp.
Winter brings special discomforts to the people of Prague.
High above the cobblestones of famed Wenceslas Square, a seasonal blanket of warmer air gathers. The inverted atmosphere traps some of Europe's worst pollution below, where a pall of caustic micro-grime accumulates. Barely three years after the Velvet Revolution overthrew Communism, the 7 year-old federation of Czech and Slovak peoples known as Czechoslovakia has changed once again. Remaining intact, however, is what many say is the worst environmental degradation in the world. The culprit is sulfur dioxide, with an assist from nitrogen oxide and heavy-metal fly ash.