The Great Smog of London, England (1952)
If you’ve watched the first season of Netflix’s The Crown, you already know this particular historical story, but Doctor Who has never tackled it. For five days in December 1952, a severe air pollution event occurred in which a combination of smoke from coal-burning furnaces mixed with a cold fog and created a thick layer of smog over the city. It was so thick you could barely see through it and lots of things couldn’t operate normally as a result (i.e. the bus system). Businesses closed. It was scary.
At least 4,000 – and perhaps as many as 12,000 – people died, many of which were elderly folks or infants with respiratory problems. Also, a bunch of animals just dropped dead at the Smithfield Market. To say this all felt apocalyptic and creepy is not an understatement.
Historical figures we might meet: Regular people whose lives were impacted by this, quite frankly, weirdo event would probably most interesting for the Doctor Who team to tackle, particularly as the Chris Chibnall era seems so focused on the stories of regular, everyday types. How did a bus driver function during all this? What were these days like for a nurse in a hospital? These seem like the kind of people the Doctor, particularly, would like to know.
Potential adventures: Though we know now that the smog was generally caused by a combination of factors – a sudden cold snap causing an increase of coal use, a cold fog, etc – it’s a strange enough event that we could definitely blame it on aliens. Maybe they caused it, maybe some aliens are using the fact of the Great Smog’s existence to cover up some sort of questionable or nefarious activity.
There’s also a potential environmental angle here too. This smog – and another similar though less disastrous event about a decade later – led to several important government efforts, including the Clean Air Act of 1956, to improve air quality and reduce pollutants in the atmosphere.