Factory and vehicle emissions primarily affect the atmosphere. When fossil fuels are burned, they release pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter into the air. These emissions contribute to air pollution and can have various environmental impacts, including climate change and health issues.
While the emissions originate from activities that occur in the lithosphere (the Earth's crust where factories and vehicles are situated), their primary impact is on the atmosphere. Additionally, some of these pollutants can eventually have indirect effects on the biosphere (the global sum of all ecosystems) and may also affect the hydrosphere (water bodies), but the initial emissions themselves are part of atmospheric processes.