Only 3 of 74 Chinese cities meet air quality standard

[SpArK]

Only three out of 74 Chinese cities have clean air, minister admits


Mar 10, 2014

BEIJING: Only three of China's 74 major cities meet its national air quality standards, said deputy minister for environmental protection Wu Xiaoqing. The three clean cities are distant and low-industry centres of Lhasa in Tibet and two islands, Hainan and Zhoushan.

Worst pollution levels in China was seen in the industrialized Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei belt which experienced high air pollution on more than 60% of days last year, he said. People in smog plagued Beijing inhaled pollutants 10 times more than the permissible limits set by the World Health Organization.

Sources said the government has decided to force polluting industries pay for the health damage they are causing. It is revising the law to hold "polluters accountable for the damage they cause and having them compensate for it", said Zhang Dejiang who sits on the powerful seven-member Politburo of the Communist Party.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region saw an average level of PM2.5 — tiny pollutant particles smaller than 2.5 microns that can penetrate deep into the lungs — at 106 micrograms per cubic metre last year which is extremely high. This region houses seven of the country's 10 most polluted cities.

Three industrial regions — Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area in northern China, Yangtze Delta in the east and Pearl River Delta in the south — cover just 8% of China's area but consume 43% of fuel resources. They are also responsible for 30% of the air pollution in the country.

"Our measures to curb air, water and other types of pollution may somewhat stall the growth of our gross domestic product but this is what we have to do," Wu said. He admitted it will not be easy to enforce new laws for punishing polluters as the government will need to undertake fierce negotiations among interest groups.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang last week vowed to "declare war on pollution". But his statement was criticized by environmentalist who said investments on clean energy devices have actually come down 10% last year.


Only three out of 74 Chinese cities have clean air, minister admits - The Times of India


Big cities fail to meet air standards - Headlines, features, photo and videos from ecns.cn|china|news|chinanews|ecns|cns

Only 3 of 74 Chinese cities meet air quality standard | South China Morning Post

 

[Srinivas]

I am not sure if the stats of those 3 cities are indeed real ......

 

[Genesis]

I am not sure if the stats of those 3 cities are indeed real ......

you do know they don't ban people from going there right?

Especially Hainan, a tourist city, you know what people can do? Go there.

 

[Srinivas]

you do know they don't ban people from going there right?

Especially Hainan, a tourist city, you know what people can do? Go there.

Sanya in Hainan covered in smog, to shock of resort residents and visitors | South China Morning Post

An unusual bout of smog in Sanya has alarmed locals and tourists alike. They fear the resort city's reputation as a haven from the country's worsening air pollution may be at risk.

Locals said a blanket of smog hung over the city in Hainan province for the sixth straight day yesterday, even though environmental authorities continued to rate the local air quality as "good".

The local air pollution index (API) hit 83 yesterday, down slightly from a high of 84 on Friday, according to figures from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The smog was first noticed last Monday, when the API jumped to 67, up from 37 the previous day.

While such readings would be welcomed in a northern city like Beijing, where the index can exceed 200, some in Sanya saw the smog as a worrying sign.

Shop owner Chen Baochun said he had never seen such persistent smog during his 54 years in the city of more than 685,000, which is widely regarded as having some of the country's clearest skies.

Chen said it would be depressing if Sanya became just like any other mainland city.

"But I suppose Sanya can no longer be freed from smog if we don't tackle air pollution in a collective and comprehensive way," Chen said.

For all of last month, Sanya's API rating was below 50, which is considered "excellent".

The Sanya Land Resources and Environment Bureau told the Hainan Island News that a combination of weather patterns, emissions from locally owned vehicles and pollution wafting from Guangdong and other neighbouring regions was to blame for the smog.

The local meteorological bureau refused to predict when the smog might end.

Su Yi , who visited Sanya from Beijing last October, said his first reaction to the smog reports was that they must have been faked. He said he saw nothing but blue skies and the occasional rain cloud during his stay last year.

"Now we have learned a hard lesson about how polluted the air in China is, because the most pollution-free city is no longer clean," Su said.

Air pollution has been a growing concern across the mainland, especially in the north.

 

[xuxu1457]

As the China's air quality standard, I don't think any big India city can meet it

 

[danger007]

As the China's air quality standard, I don't think any big India city can meet it

lol... yeah we are no where near to the Chinese cities

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Well, China's GDP is over 10 trillion, while India hasn't even reached 2 trillion, so there is no comparison here.

The development is a double-edge sword as if you want to become more industrialized, then you have to pay certain price.

 

[tranquilium]

Well, China's GDP is over 10 trillion, while India hasn't even reached 2 trillion, so there is no comparison here.

The development is a double-edge sword as if you want to become more industrialized, then you have to pay certain price.

It is actually not the industry in many cities' case. If it is industrial pollution, you would hear both air and water pollution. Yet all these news are only mentioning air. This is because the main cause of air pollution in these cities are motor vehicles. Basically, because people are getting more wealthy, they begin to drive more cars and cars create air pollution.

 

[BoQ77]

now they want to move the pollution from China to Vietnam

 

[Fukuoka]

I think asians will feel exploited later and treated with disrespect

I wonder is asians will react now or wait 80 years to ask for apologizes

 

[cirr]

The Minister is right。Heavy smog in many Chinese cities due to massive development and the burning of fossil fuels，especially coal。Still Indian cities face worse pollution problems than their Chinese counterparts。India should really be worried considering that fact that the country is still a basically argarian concern。

 

[Fattyacids]

@SpArK ; @Srinivas ; @danger007

Beijing’s Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/w...r-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?_r=0

"It's always puzzled me that the focus is always on China and not India," said Dr Angel Hsu, director of the environmental performance measurement programme at the Yale Center forEnvironmental Law and Policy. "China has realized that it can't hide behind its usual opacity, whereas India gets no pressure to release better data. So there simply isn't good public data on India like there is for China."

Experts have long known that India's air is among the worst in the world. A recent analysis by Yale researchers found that seven of the 10 countries with the worst air pollution exposures are in South Asia. And evidence is mounting that Indians pay a higher price for air pollution than almost anyone. A recent study showed that Indians have the world's weakest lungs, with far less capacity than Chinese lungs. Researchers are beginning to suspect that India's unusual mix of polluted air, poor sanitation and contaminated water may make the country among the most dangerous in the world for lungs."


Delhi world’s most polluted city: Study - Hindustan Times

Considering India has not reached China's level of industrialization:

 

[shuttler]

Considering India has not reached China's level of industrialization:

Indeed! no where near it
and they are always the first lot to laugh at us!
They repeatedly start these topics to remind themselves they are so far behind China!

Having said all those, anti pollutions businesses can provide great momentum for our economy.

 

[illusion8]

you do know they don't ban people from going there right?

Especially Hainan, a tourist city, you know what people can do? Go there.

Does it have something to do with the density of the air or the altitude in those regions that results in slower dissipation of pollution particles or formation of smog?.

 

[jkroo]

indiaairquality | A discussion forum for everyone interested in air pollution in India
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Aginw1swLvdqdEtIRkhHVW5MZEFuWmFmQ
Be realistic. India's air condition is not better than China if it's not worse.
Take action to the pollution ASAP is good to economy and health. It's already happened and let's counter it with different measures.