IELTS Vocabulary: Pollution

You might be asked about problems in your home-town. Or you might get a question more
specifically related to pollution. Other environmental vocabulary (including environmental
problems) will be covered in separate lists.

Kinds of Pollution
Air Pollution: polluted air; dirty air; the air quality; acid rain; haze; smog; it’s a hazy/smoggy
day
Water Pollution: polluted water; dirty rivers; contaminated ground-water
Land Pollution: lead contamination; the soil is contaminated with lead; a contaminant; a
pollutant; pesticides
Other: noise pollution; light pollution

Sources of Pollution
fossil fuels; car exhaust; factory emissions; chemical plant emissions; power station emissions;
oil refinery emissions; hazardous waste; toxic chemicals
In the Home/City
litter; drop litter; litter bins; biodegradable materials; incinerators; domestic waste; a garbage
dump; a landfill

You must be able to use the words and phrases in sentences, in context.
So, practice the vocabulary by answering some Speaking Module questions:

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions:

 What do you think of the air quality in your town?
 Do you take public transport? Why?

IELTS Speaking Part-3 Question:

 Are people concerned about the environment in your country?
 What are the main causes of environmental problems?
 Should governments do more to protect the environment?
 What can citizens do to protect the environment?
 Do you think large companies and business organisations should be more
environmentally friendly? Why? How?
 How can we educate children about the importance of protecting the environment?
IELTS Writing Task-2 Essays:
Reducing global environmental damage should be handled by governments rather than
individuals.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.

Write at least 250 words.

1) Every year, more than 14 billion pounds (6 billion kilograms) of garbage

is dumped into the world's ocean. Most of it, is plastic that is toxic to
marine life.
worldnewsdailyreport.com

2) There are more than 500 million cars in the world now and the number
is expected to rise to over a billion by 2030, which means the pollution
caused by cars could potentially double by that year.
greenmela.com

3) We know massive deadly oil spills are created after tankers or drilling
rigs have accidents but in fact, for every million tons of oil shipped, there
is always one ton of oil spilled – without any accident.

4) China is among the countries with highest air pollution in the world.
Breathing air in Beijing, the country´s capital, increases the risk of lung
cancer in the same way as smoking 21 cigarettes a day.

5) Water pollution is even worse in India, where almost 80% of all urban
waste is dumped into the river Ganges – the most sacred river to
Hindus. The river is now also the place where poor Indians bury their
deceased family members.

6) Noise pollution is one of the most ignored types of pollution but it can
cause serious problems including stress, hearing loss, sleep disorders,
high blood pressure etc. In the US alone, millions of people suffer from
noise pollution.

7) The US has also been struggling with serious water pollution. About
40% of American rivers and 46% of American lakes are too
contaminated for fishing, aquatic life and swimming.
8) Thousands of marine animals including fish, turtles, dolphins etc. die
after swallowing plastic bags that resemble jellyfish.

9) In India, about a thousand children die every single day due to a

disease caused by extreme water pollution.

10) According to a scientific study, about 1 in every 8 deaths that occur in

the world is somehow associated with air pollution.

11) Almost half of all seabird species, 22% of cetaceans, all sea turtle
species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with
plastic found in or around their bodies.