Voice of America News: Asia’s dramatic economic growth in recent years has come with environmental costs that can take a heavy toll on people’s health. While air pollution from busy factories and congested highways are part of the problem, there are also concerns about air quality in rural areas.“...Air pollution in Asia is much more serious than anywhere else because of the economic growth and a lot of air pollution are produced in Asia....," said Professor CM Wong, of Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health. He says he has found a close correlation between air pollution and death rates in China’s industrial hub - Wuhan, Hong Kong and Shanghai - as well as in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. “…Our findings were consistent among the four cities,” he said.
In Hong Kong, the bad air is even starting to affect the city's reputation as an international financial hub. Businesses in the financial sector say it has become harder to attract talent from other countries because of the air quality.
Half of the territory’s dirty air comes from urban transport like buses and ferries that emit nitrogen dioxide - a pollutant that scientists say can trigger complications in children with asthma. The World Health Organization estimates safe levels of nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, should not exceed a yearly average of 40 micrograms per cubic meter. “We can show that in one day the NO2 level can be 130, 140 something,” Professor Wong said….
A smoggy day in Jiujiang, shot by Geoff Wong, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
No comments:
Post a Comment