The Guardian: Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world

Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Monday October 31, 2005
The Guardian

As it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing has been
awarded an unwelcome new accolade: the air pollution capital of the
world.


Satellite data has revealed that the city is one of the worst
environmental victims of China's spectacular economic growth, which
has brought with it air pollution levels that are blamed for more
than 400,000 premature deaths a year.


According to the European Space Agency, Beijing and its neighbouring
north-east Chinese provinces have the planet's worst levels of
nitrogen dioxide, which can cause fatal damage to the lungs.

An explosive increase in car ownership is blamed for a sharp rise in
unhealthy emissions. In the past five years the number of vehicles
clogging the capital's streets has more than doubled to nearly 2.5m.
It is expected to top the 3m mark by the start of the Olympics in
2008.


Alarm about the perilous state of the environment has gathered pace
in recent years. China is the world's second-largest producer of
greenhouse gases, and the World Bank has warned it is home to 16 of
the planet's 20 most air-polluted cities.


According to the European satellite data, pollutants in the sky over
China have increased by about 50% during the past 10 years. Senior
officials warn that worse is still to come. At a recent seminar
Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the environmental protection agency,
said that pollution levels could more than quadruple within 15 years
unless the country can slow the rise in energy consumption and
automobile use.


A recently published study, conducted by the Chinese Academy on
Environmental Planning, blamed air pollution for 411,000 premature
deaths - mostly from lung and heart-related diseases - in 2003. It
said that a third of China's urban residents were exposed to harmful
levels of pollution. More than 100 million people live in cities,
such as Beijing, where the air is considered "very dangerous".


The political implications are also becoming more apparent. Health
concerns, particularly regarding cancer and birth defects thought to
be caused by chemical factories, have been a major factor in a
recent wave of protests. Conservation groups say acid rain falls on a
third of China's territory and 70% of rivers and lakes are so full
of toxins they can no longer be used for drinking water.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1605146,00.html