What is the air quality index of Beijing?
Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China and was formerly known asPeking. It is the world’s most populous city with an estimated population ofover 21 million residents. The city is located in the northern part of Chinaand covers an area of 16,500 square kilometres.
At the end of 2020, the air quality index for Beijing recorded a figure of 52 USAQI. This classes it as “Moderate” according to the recommendations suggestedby the World Health Organisation (WHO). Other pollutants were measured with the following results: - PM2.5 = 12.5µg/m³, PM10 = 33 µg/m³, ozone (O3) = 43 µg/m³, nitrogendioxide (NO2) = 24 µg/m³, sulphur dioxide (SO2) = 4 µg/m³and carbon monoxide (CO) = 400 µg/m³. The figures are stated as micrograms percubic metre.
In 2019 China was classed as the 11th dirtiest country in the world. The city of Beijing was ranked at 201.
Throughout 2019, Beijing had just two months when the air quality was classified as“Moderate” with readings between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The remaining ten monthsshowed readings of 35.5 to 55.4 µg/m³ which categorised it as “Unhealthy forSensitive Groups”, according to The WHO. This was an improvement on previousyears, though when recorded figures were 50.9 and 58.8 µg/m³ for 2018 and 2017respectively.
What are the main sources of air pollution in Beijing?
Beijing air pollution is mainly caused by vehicle emissions and the burning of coal toproduce electricity. Other factors that influence air quality in Beijinginclude the manufacturing industry and population growth.
Of the twenty cities throughout the world with the worst air quality, 16 of themare located in China. Because of this, its Environmental Sustainability Index is ranked towards the bottom amongstcountries worldwide.
An increase in personal wealth can also have an influence here. With surplus moneyat the end of each month, an individual is more able to buy a car. The numberof motor vehicles in Beijing in 2017 was estimated at 5.5 million.
Is the air quality in Beijing getting better or worse?
In the last 15 years, China has been steadily improving its air quality. Itreduced levels of PM2.5 by 47% between 2005 and 2015. Beijing recorded itslowest ever monthly reading for air pollution in August 2019, with a low of 23 µg/m³.The main reasons for the reduction of air pollution in China are the shift fromcoal to natural gas in the power stations, the large number of electricvehicles used by the people and the effort from the Chinese government to haltdeforestation in the country.
What are the health effects of Beijing’s polluted air?
When the air quality in Beijing is at its worst, people are urged by the governmentto avoid outdoor activities. Most common health issues are a sore throat andcough. Over the past decade, lung cancer rates have risen by over 60%. Otherconsequences of air pollution in Beijing include yellow skies, higher mortalityrates, and cancelled flights due to low visibility levels.
Air pollution is very serious in many parts of the world. Nine out of ten people inthe world breathe polluted air, and the death toll caused by air pollutionreaches 7 million every year. Up to one third of deaths caused by stroke, lungcancer and heart disease are due to air pollution. Air pollution is everywhere.No matter where you live, you cannot escape. The fine pollutants in the airbreak through our body's defences, penetrate into our respiratory andcirculatory systems and damage our lungs, heart and brain.
The main pollutants in the air include Particulate matter which is a mixture ofsolids and liquid droplets mainly from fuel combustion and road traffic; nitrogendioxide (NO 2) from road traffic and organic material combustion; sulphurdioxide (SO2) burning fossil fuels and ground-level ozone (O3)produced by the reaction of sunlight with pollutants in vehicle exhaust.
The pollutant that affects people the most is particulate matter, usuallyabbreviated as PM and used as a measure of air pollution. Although particleswith a diameter of 10 microns or less (≤PM10) can penetrate and embed deep inthe lungs, the ones that are more harmful to health are those with a diameterof 2.5 microns or less (≤PM2.5). These particles are very small, only one 60ththe diameter of a human hair.
Ozone (O3) is a major factor in causing asthma (or making it worse).Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) can alsocause asthma, bronchial symptoms, lung inflammation and decreased lung function.
More than 90% of children in the world breathe heavily polluted air every day,putting their health and development at serious risk. In 2016, 600,000 childrendied from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air. One reasonwhy children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution is that they breathefaster than adults and therefore absorb more pollutants. In addition, theliving space of children whose brains and bodies are still developing is closerto the ground, where some pollutants have the highest concentrations. Airpollution can also affect children's neurodevelopment and cognitive abilitiesand may cause asthma and childhood cancer. Children exposed to high levels ofair pollution may have a higher risk of developing chronic diseases such ascardiovascular disease in later life.
What can be done to improve Beijing’s air quality?
The local authorities in Beijing realised how successful their policy to reducetraffic was for the 2008 Olympics. The most common way of reducing traffic isto prohibit certain vehicles from entering certain areas on certain days of theweek. Automobiles within the 5th Ring Road shall not be allowed on public roadsfor one day each week according to the end number on their license plate: fromMonday to Friday, automobiles with end numbers 1 or 6, 2 or 7, 3 or 8, 4 or 9,5 or 0 respectively would cease going on public road space. There is a time-frameto accompany these rules which are the hours between 07:00 to 20:00 as beingthe prohibited times. These exclusions would last for about 3 months beforechanging to allow different vehicles into the city on different days.
As expected, these rules and regulations do not apply to electric vehicles (EVs).These vehicles emit no toxic waste and are therefore encouraged to be used. Thegovernment offers incentives to people who buy and use electric cars. Someowners regard them as being ideal for use within the city limits but remainsceptical as to how suitable they are for longer journeys out of town. The fearis a lack of recharging hubs or the lack of knowledge as to where they arelocated. No doubt there is an app that can be downloaded to your phone, whichwould help, but the confidence to use them for longer journeys is just notthere.
China will ban all new coal-fired power stations and start to replace existing oneswith natural gas as a power source. In some parts of China, steel productionhas been reduced.
According to data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, from October to November2018, Beijing's PM2.5 concentration dropped by more than 40% year-on-year, andthe monthly data in November fell 54% year-on-year. In November last year, theproportion of days with good air in Beijing was 80%, and heavy pollutionoccurred for 1 day. In November 2016, the proportion of days with good air inBeijing was 43.3%, with heavy pollution for 6 days and severe pollution for 1day.
In recent years, the smog in Beijing has been criticized. In autumn and winter,social media will be "screened" by air pollution warnings and grey hazephotos, and the streets will be full of Beijing residents wearing masks walkinghurriedly.
PM2.5 can be divided into primary source and secondary source, which are bothman-made and non-man-made, which is very complicated. There are thousands ofsources of PM2.5, some of which are unclear. Research data includes monitoringdata, meteorological data, pollutant emissions, source characteristics, andseasonal changes. The current data is very limited and more research is needed.
Actions that can save lives and help save the planet include raising vehicle standards,prioritising clean public transportation and ways to promote physical activity,and using more efficient stoves and fuel alternatives for cooking, lighting,and heating.
Can the smog in Beijing be controlled?
The most important way to control smog is to reduce emissions. The large-scale useof various fossil energy sources is the main cause of hazy weather. You need toburn coal to generate electricity. In fact, less than 30% of the coal burned isconverted into electricity, and the rest is discharged. Automobiles, ships andother machinery need petroleum. Similarly, engines only convert less than 30%of petroleum into power, and the rest is also discharged. In other words, ourenergy use is "expensive", less use and more emissions. It isunrealistic to reduce energy use, and clean energy is far from being able tomeet demand and is expensive. If 70% of the existing energy can be used and 30%of the emissions can be used, the environmental and energy problems will besolved at the same time, and the human society will have sustainabledevelopment.
Also, plant more trees for afforestation. Afforestation is of great significance forregulating climate, conserving water sources, and reducing air pollution.Because trees can absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. They can alsowithstand wind and sandstorms, and at the same time can also beautify theenvironment. Artificial afforestation can be divided into five types of timberforests, protection forests, economic forests, firewood forests and specialpurpose forests according to different management purposes and characteristics.For example, bamboo, willow, oleander, locust trees, camphor trees, yew and soon. This requires the participation of many people, because it not onlybeautifies the homeland, reduces the harm of soil erosion and sandstorm damageto farmland, but also effectively improves the carbon storage capacity of theforest ecosystem.
Beijing has established a coordinating organisation including 13 municipal departmentsand 16 district and county governments. When heavy pollution occurs, eachdistrict and county must take corresponding emergency measures according to itsown situation.
The "Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution inBeijing" began to solicit public opinion from the whole society. Themunicipal government can take measures to restrict traffic in certain areasaccording to the quality of the air environment; key pollution sources shouldfollow the regulations in their own units. Websites or other public placesdisclose information such as the pollutant discharge situation that it monitorsby itself. This series of powerful measures is expected to ensure itsimplementation through regulations. Beijing will continue to prevent andcontrol air pollution through nine major measures including the development ofnew energy sources and the reduction of automobile exhaust emissions.
It could be mandatory to install desulphurization, denitrification and dustremoval facilities in all coal-fired power plants, coal-fired boilers, and coalchemical plants. On the basis that most of the existing independent thermal powerplants have installed desulphurization facilities, all independent thermalpower plants, self-built thermal power plants, coal-fired boilers and coalchemical plants will be further required to install desulphurization facilitiesas soon as possible. At the same time, all large coal-fired power plants,coal-fired boilers and coal chemical plants will be required to installdenitrification and dust removal facilities.
The cause of smog is mainly due to the increase in traffic in the city centres andthe greatly increased emissions of car exhausts and also because of theincrease in carbon dioxide released by heating in winter. Another reason isthat dust rises off the ground and into the air, which also provides conditionsfor the generation of haze. If people remain in the hazy environment for extendedperiods of time, it may cause problems in the respiratory system. The risk oftrachealis and emphysema may increase greatly, and it may also increase bloodpressure and heart function problems.
What caused the strongest sandstorm in the past ten years which turned the skies over Beijing orange?
In the early months of 2021, China had been hit by the strongest sandstorm in the past 10 years.
There was a strong cyclone blowing across from Inner Mongolia and towards north-western China, from northern Xinjiang to central and western Gansu. Strong winds were blowing at between 8 to 10 times stronger than is normal at this time of year.
Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued a blue gale warning and a blue sand and dust warning to remind citizens to protect themselves against sand and dust.
According to data released, the highest PM10 concentration was 6496 µg/m³ in the Beijing suburbs and several other readings were reportedly off the scale. On the AQI website the US AQI number was reported as being 1960 which puts it firmly in the "Hazardous" category.
Many local people put pictures on the social media site “WeChat” which almost turned the situation into a scene from a sci-fi movie with yellow and orange filters which gave their pictures an eerie retro look.
Fortunately, after the peak during mid-morning, the level of sand and dust in Beijing had abated, and the visibility had improved significantly since then.
