World China: Beijing's 'Airpocalypse' Spurs Pollution Controls, Public Pressure

[tom_mai78101]

In China's capital, they're calling it the "airpocalypse," with air pollution that's literally off the charts. The air has been classified as hazardous to human health for a fifth consecutive day, at its worst hitting pollution levels 25 times that considered safe in the U.S. The entire city is blanketed in a thick grey smog that smells of coal and stings the eyes, leading to official warnings to stay inside.

Environmentalists say it's the worst pollution since monitoring began last year, while many others believe the levels are unprecedented in Beijing's history. The smog has affected more than 30 cities in China, leading even the official mouthpiece, thePeople's Daily, to ask plaintively: "How can we get out of this suffocating siege of pollution?"

The conditions are expected to linger for two more days.

China is choking on its own breakneck development, with thousands of new cars taking to the road every day. This year, the pollution has been exacerbated by weather patterns, combined with an unusually cold spell.

Read more here.

 

[Accname]

Environmentalists say it's the worst pollution since monitoring began last year

I am shocked by that statement. Its the worst since monitoring started last year?
Like, "wow" for a whole year? And its already the worst?

 

[tom_mai78101]

I am shocked by that statement. Its the worst since monitoring started last year?
Like, "wow" for a whole year? And its already the worst?

It's possibly due to the government intervention over there.

 

[Accname]

Yeah, but thats not the point.
I mean, if they only started monitoring 1 year ago why would they say "this is the worst data ever!!!".
I mean, if i started monitoring the pollution in my room at this point in time i would probably get "worst data ever" a few dozen times over the course of a week.
They can say "worst data ever" if they have been monitoring it for a decade, or a century maybe, but only one year?! Ludicrous.

 

[tom_mai78101]

Probably it just got worse within a timespan of 1 year or less.

 

[Fatmankev]

Let's hope that smog ain't combustible, given China's track record with explosive shit.

 

[FireCat]

But what does it look like from space?

Spoiler

acquired January 14, 2013

acquired January 3, 2013

It looks pretty unhealthy... doesn't it?

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired these natural-color images of northeastern China on January 14 (top) and January 3, 2013. The top image shows extensive haze, low clouds, and fog over the region. The brightest areas tend to be clouds or fog, which have a tinge of gray or yellow from the air pollution. Other cloud-free areas have a pall of gray and brown smog that mostly blots out the cities below. In areas where the ground is visible, some of the landscape is covered with lingering snow from storms in recent weeks. (Snow is more prominent in the January 3 image.)

At the time that the January 14 image was taken by satellite, ground-based sensors at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reported PM2.5 measurements of 291 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Fine, airborne particulate matter (PM) that is smaller than 2.5 microns (about one thirtieth the width of a human hair) is considered dangerous because it is small enough to enter the passages of the human lungs. Most PM2.5 aerosol particles come from the burning of fossil fuels and biomass (wood fires and agricultural burning). The World Health Organization considers PM2.5 to be safe when it is below 25.

 

[DM Cross]

Is this really just from new cars? I never heard of China's air pollution being this bad, have I just been living under a rock named 'Merica or something?

 

[DM Cross]

Yes, I can read the article, too... Congratulations for your base-level education!

My overall question was: Is this a sudden problem? Was this problem existing last year and because they weren't monitoring it, they didn't realize how bad it was? I mean, city-encapsulating clouds of smog seem like they'd be kinda noticeable. But hey, maybe that's just me. I may, after all, be smarter than the average bear.

I can read, afterall

 

[FireCat]

Hmm I know, but it was an another article about the issue.

 

[Accname]

From the worst 10 cities in terms of pollution 5 are within china. Saw that on tv one evening.

 

[KaerfNomekop]

I wonder how this compares to Vietnam. I went there at Christmastime and the smog was soooooooo bad. You couldn't see the buildings nor any clouds.