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Air Quality in ChinaSince 2007, China has been

the world’s emitter of greenhouse gasses, making

air pollution in Asia a severe global issue. Is it

something to worry about?

Air Quality in China: Perception Versus Reality

China has seen significant economic development over the decades. This has taken place largely to the benefit of their population, but some problems have

arisen. China air pollution has become quite a significant concern. If air pollution does lead to global

warming as some experts claim, it is worth considering when using an air emissions source.

They are aware of it of course, and some progress has been made in rectifying it. With that said, they have a

long way to go. More and more, industrial firms concern themselves with environmental

consequences of their activities, and then the economic implications of changes to the environment.

Most countries have agencies that regulate activities to some degree and support beneficial practices.

Those highly concerned with global warming are glad to see that somebody with power cares, but often

wish they had, even more, power.

Then we could all see the difference they are looking for. An active government agency facilitates the

creation of that difference and significant moves in the right direction.

Since 2007, China has been the world’s emitter

of greenhouse gasses, making air pollution in

Asia a severe global issue.

It is a serious a problem for the Chinese people.

China air quality contributes to the deaths

of three-quarters of a million people every year,

according to the WHO (World Health Organization)

Economic Growth

China’s economic growth, combined with industrial equipment that could now be replaced with cleaner

technology, is largely responsible for the current China air pollution situation. A major example is

cement manufacturing.

China’s construction and infrastructure boom have led the to China becoming the world’s leading maker of

cement. Just over half the worldwide output now comes from China. Concrete production is polluting and highly energy intensive, and methods currently

used in China compound the problems.

Many producers use inefficient shaft kilns, which the West started to abandon at the beginning of the 20th Century. Overall, 6% of the nation’s electricity is used in operating cement-making plants, and much of it is

wasted. These unscrubbed kilns also emit vast quantities of mercury, carbon monoxide, carbon

dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and other substances of interest.

Unscrubbed means the facility is operated without the use of additional technology specifically designed

to reduce emissions.

Much of the power requirement of these kilns is met by old-fashioned, unscrubbed coal-burning power plants. Almost 70% of China’s electrical

demands are met using coal. The overwhelming majority of China’s greenhouse gas emissions come

from this type of source and fuel.

Construction Booms

These issues came to the fore during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which opened with the

city clouded in smog. Although the skies did clear up, to what degree air quality improved is a

subject of speculation. The Chinese government closed the only independent agency monitoring

air pollution in Beijing, the Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC), for

the duration of the games.

The data available comes from either independent, but untrained journalists, or the Chinese government

and the impartiality of these numbers has been identified as suspicious. Even if the Chinese officials accurately reported China air quality statistics, the

standards used for comparison leave something to be desired. While they consider any day with a

particulate matter rating below 100 to be a “Blue Sky Day,” the WHO draws their line at 50.

They are making some efforts to reverse their trend towards ever-greater China air pollution. Their reforestation project, “the great wall of

green,” will become the world’s single greatest re-planting of a forest, when completed. However, the

country’s progress in other ways has been less promising.

In 2000, their government promised that it would reduce the China air pollution by 10 percent by the year 2005.

China has been through some of the greatest economic developments over the last few decades.

However, this growth has come at higher cost. There has been massive industrial development in the

country, and that has significantly increased the level of air pollution here. In fact, polluted air quality in China has become a major subject of concern in

recent times.

Although this matter has been brought to light and steps are being taken to rectify the situation, the situation is quite grave,

and much still needs to be done to see any signs of major improvement.

China has been ranked as the world’s number one emitter of the main greenhouse gasses since the year

2007. Although the air pollution has only affected China, the matter has now escalated into a serious

issue of global importance.

Not only it is a major problem for the Chinese people themselves, but the poor air quality is also prone to

affect any foreign individual who visits the country for some purpose or the other. According to the statistics presented by WHO (World Health Organization), the bad air quality in China contributes to the untimely deaths of 3 quarters of one million people each and

every year.

The current situation of air pollution in China has resulted from the economic growth of the

country as well as the kind of industrial equipment that are in use there to yield production. One of the pillars of Chinese

development is cement making. The boom in the Chinese construction industry has made the

country the leading producer of cement in the world.

More than 50% of cement used worldwide is now produced in China. The process of concrete production has always been highly energy

intensive and polluting, and the methods that are currently in use in China also add to the problem. Several of the cement producers use shaft kilns

that were long ago abandoned in the West.

Nearly 6% of the country’s electricity is used for operating the cement plants, of which a lot is

wasted. The un-scrubbed kilns emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury, sulfur dioxide, particulate matters, and

many other harmful substances.

The issue of air pollution in China came to the forefront during the Beijing Olympic Games held

in 2008, which began with the city skies all clouded in smog. Even though the skies cleared up later, there is widespread speculation as to

how far the air quality improved.

BonusClick on the link below to read the full blog post!

https://blog.laowaicareer.com/planes-trains-automobiles-transportation-china

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