Img173577
HONG KONG’S POLLUTION GOES OFF THE CHART
Photos taken on the 30 minute ferry journey from Central to Discovery Bay, about 12 miles. The photos have not been edited.
Hong Kong's Air Pollution Index (API) remained high on Tuesday 23 March 2010 - but had improved compared with the high levels recorded on Monday.
Roadside air pollution on Tuesday in Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok was still at unhealthy levels. At 1.40pm, the reading at a roadside station in Central was 326, while readings in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok had climbed to 290 and 296, respectively. Roadside readings in Western and Eastern districts and Kwun Tong were also above 300.
On Monday, roadside readings in Causeway Bay were between 410 and 495, while readings in Central and Mong Kok hit 376 and 458, respectively. The highest reading for a general monitoring station on Monday was 434 in Tsuen Wan, while stations in other districts, such as Eastern, Sha Tin, Tai Po, recorded air pollution levels of around 400.
According to the Environmental Protection Department, when the API is 101-200, people with heart and respiratory illnesses may find their symptoms worsen. The Environmental Protection Department warns people with heart or respiratory conditions to stay indoors when the index exceeds 100. When the API is between 201-500 healthy people may suffer eye irritations, coughing, phlegm and sore throats.
Hong Kong was caught by surprise on Monday when a sandstorm from parched northern China descended on the city, pushing readings off the top of the 500-point air pollution index and prompting questions about why no early warnings were issued to the public.
Environment Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah said it was rare for Hong Kong to be affected by sandstorms from Northern China. Sandstorms across the mainland have covered cities in clouds of sand. Strong winds pick up the loose dust and dirt, mixing them with industrial pollution. Yau also advised the public to reduce physical activities.
Civic Exchange chief executive Christine Loh Kung-wai said more still needed to be done to reduce air pollution in Hong Kong.
“We need the government to be more courageous. And we need Hong Kong people to understand that the situation can be improved locally,” she told local radio.
Environment and health officials said not much could be done to alleviate the effects of the choking murk, which was borne in on easterly winds along the coast early yesterday causing already-high pollution readings to jump sixfold.
At 9pm on Monday, the readings at 10 out of the 14 air quality monitoring stations - including the three roadside stations in Causeway Bay, Central and Mong Kok - had gone off the scale, eclipsing the previous highest reading of 201 in Tung Chung in 2004.
The concentration of the main pollutants - tiny suspended particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs - was at least 15 times the World Health Organisation's recommended maximum.
Environment officials said they had spotted an unusual rise in particle concentration at about 8pm on Sunday but did not issue a warning through the government information services until six hours later at 2.36am, when most people were asleep.
The dominant pollutant is respirable suspended particles - also known as PM10 - no bigger than 10 microns, a 10th of the diameter of a human hair. In Eastern district, where air quality is often worse than that of other districts, the concentration topped 770 micrograms per cubic metre of air at least 15 times the World Health Organisation guidelines, which is 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air.
The government has secured support from the two power companies to use cleaner fuel in an effort to cut the pollution, but this cannot begin for about two days.
According to the South China Morning Post:
“At the heart of the problem is a lack of government will. It refuses to force the power and transport companies polluting the environment to take concerted action. The schemes offered up are voluntary with few incentives. As a result, the majority of our electricity still comes from highly-polluting coal and oil, cargo ships and ferries burn the worst pollutants of all, bunker fuel, and an unreasonably large number of old diesel buses and trucks - about one-third of the fleet - remain on our roads.
Authorities are not at fault for the freak sandstorm and wind conditions, but they are directly to blame for the pollutants that mixed with the particles that created never-imagined readings. We were told to avoid going outdoors, and schools advised to cancel sports activities. This is a knee-jerk response to circumstances that were known about, but handled poorly due to a lack of policy.
Overgrazing in the mainland's northwest has created the deserts from which the sandstorms have come. We are powerless to deal with this environmental degradation; the central government is struggling to revegetate lost farmland and forests. But pollution of our own making is quite another matter. Legally-binding policies and better use of the government's considerable resources will make a difference.
The dust will gradually dissipate. The day the index was breached will go down in collective memory. There is no better jolt for a government that has been complacent about the biggest threat to our city's health. The right mindset has been lacking; now there can be no more excuses.”
Img173577
HONG KONG’S POLLUTION GOES OFF THE CHART
Photos taken on the 30 minute ferry journey from Central to Discovery Bay, about 12 miles. The photos have not been edited.
Hong Kong's Air Pollution Index (API) remained high on Tuesday 23 March 2010 - but had improved compared with the high levels recorded on Monday.
Roadside air pollution on Tuesday in Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok was still at unhealthy levels. At 1.40pm, the reading at a roadside station in Central was 326, while readings in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok had climbed to 290 and 296, respectively. Roadside readings in Western and Eastern districts and Kwun Tong were also above 300.
On Monday, roadside readings in Causeway Bay were between 410 and 495, while readings in Central and Mong Kok hit 376 and 458, respectively. The highest reading for a general monitoring station on Monday was 434 in Tsuen Wan, while stations in other districts, such as Eastern, Sha Tin, Tai Po, recorded air pollution levels of around 400.
According to the Environmental Protection Department, when the API is 101-200, people with heart and respiratory illnesses may find their symptoms worsen. The Environmental Protection Department warns people with heart or respiratory conditions to stay indoors when the index exceeds 100. When the API is between 201-500 healthy people may suffer eye irritations, coughing, phlegm and sore throats.
Hong Kong was caught by surprise on Monday when a sandstorm from parched northern China descended on the city, pushing readings off the top of the 500-point air pollution index and prompting questions about why no early warnings were issued to the public.
Environment Secretary Edward Yau Tang-wah said it was rare for Hong Kong to be affected by sandstorms from Northern China. Sandstorms across the mainland have covered cities in clouds of sand. Strong winds pick up the loose dust and dirt, mixing them with industrial pollution. Yau also advised the public to reduce physical activities.
Civic Exchange chief executive Christine Loh Kung-wai said more still needed to be done to reduce air pollution in Hong Kong.
“We need the government to be more courageous. And we need Hong Kong people to understand that the situation can be improved locally,” she told local radio.
Environment and health officials said not much could be done to alleviate the effects of the choking murk, which was borne in on easterly winds along the coast early yesterday causing already-high pollution readings to jump sixfold.
At 9pm on Monday, the readings at 10 out of the 14 air quality monitoring stations - including the three roadside stations in Causeway Bay, Central and Mong Kok - had gone off the scale, eclipsing the previous highest reading of 201 in Tung Chung in 2004.
The concentration of the main pollutants - tiny suspended particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs - was at least 15 times the World Health Organisation's recommended maximum.
Environment officials said they had spotted an unusual rise in particle concentration at about 8pm on Sunday but did not issue a warning through the government information services until six hours later at 2.36am, when most people were asleep.
The dominant pollutant is respirable suspended particles - also known as PM10 - no bigger than 10 microns, a 10th of the diameter of a human hair. In Eastern district, where air quality is often worse than that of other districts, the concentration topped 770 micrograms per cubic metre of air at least 15 times the World Health Organisation guidelines, which is 50 micrograms per cubic metre of air.
The government has secured support from the two power companies to use cleaner fuel in an effort to cut the pollution, but this cannot begin for about two days.
According to the South China Morning Post:
“At the heart of the problem is a lack of government will. It refuses to force the power and transport companies polluting the environment to take concerted action. The schemes offered up are voluntary with few incentives. As a result, the majority of our electricity still comes from highly-polluting coal and oil, cargo ships and ferries burn the worst pollutants of all, bunker fuel, and an unreasonably large number of old diesel buses and trucks - about one-third of the fleet - remain on our roads.
Authorities are not at fault for the freak sandstorm and wind conditions, but they are directly to blame for the pollutants that mixed with the particles that created never-imagined readings. We were told to avoid going outdoors, and schools advised to cancel sports activities. This is a knee-jerk response to circumstances that were known about, but handled poorly due to a lack of policy.
Overgrazing in the mainland's northwest has created the deserts from which the sandstorms have come. We are powerless to deal with this environmental degradation; the central government is struggling to revegetate lost farmland and forests. But pollution of our own making is quite another matter. Legally-binding policies and better use of the government's considerable resources will make a difference.
The dust will gradually dissipate. The day the index was breached will go down in collective memory. There is no better jolt for a government that has been complacent about the biggest threat to our city's health. The right mindset has been lacking; now there can be no more excuses.”