Hong Kong Air Pollution ‘Very High’ on Light Wind

Charity Davenport
10/23/09
3:59pm

According to an article by Sophie Leung and Nipa Piboontanaswat, the pollution in Hong Kong has hit the second highest level. This is causing many warnings for asthmatics and people with lung conditions, according to the Environmental Protection Department. The government’s air pollution index exceeded 100 due to trapped pollutions and sunlight intensified smog. Readings this high usually mean that people with heart or lung problems will “notice mild aggravation of their health conditions” and they should “reduce physical exercise and outdoor activities”. It was stated that the high API readings were due to the trapping of local pollutants from vehicles under the light wind. These readings are not expected to fall anytime soon.

I never really thought about the fact that a lack of wind could result in trapped pollutants in certain areas, however it does make a lot of sense. This leads me to believe that pollution is a much more common problem than what we are aware of. I think that it is completely unfair that people are having to live in these conditions—especially those that are said to have lung conditions and asthma. They should not have to give up their lifestyle of exercising and outdoor activities due to pollution. I’m glad to see that officers of the Clean Air Network are realizing that motor emissions are not being reduced, and hopefully their cleaning-up measures will be under way soon. Due to several other readings, I realize that changes won’t be made overnight, however it’s good to see that they are actually taking the steps towards solving the problem.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aB0nXnf8nCwY