Air pollution around big cities is quite bad, and not just because of coal. But then, we didn't make environmental purity a priority when we fully industrialized either.
You may want to adjust your thinking...
Around the big cities is worse but according to a study done by Richard Muller and Robert Rohde, 92% of China's population experienced what I would call a significant amount of unhealthy air during the study period. Coal isn't the only killer culprit but-----but according to the study, China's deteriorating air, water and soil quality comes primarily from coal.
How smog is killing thousands daily in China
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"For 38 percent of the population, the average air they breathe is 'unhealthy' by US standards," said the authors of the paper, Richard Muller and Robert Rohde. Moreover, some
92 percent of China's population experienced at least 120 hours of unhealthy air between April 5, 2014 and August 5, 2015, said the scientists.
China's national safety standard for daily exposure to harmful PM2.5 pollution - particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller - is 35 micrograms per cubic meter, making Chinese air quality limit four times higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization.
More than three decades of industrialization and rapid economic growth have led to deteriorating air, water and soil quality in the world's second-largest economy. Analysts say that despite government efforts, there are few signs of progress. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of the country's underground water is polluted, according to state media.
In a DW interview, Richard Muller and Robert Rohde talk about the main contributing factors for smog-related illnesses, the most affected areas, and what more the government needs to do to curb air pollution.
'99 percent of the Chinese population is exposed to greater air
pollution, on average, than are exposed in the very worst
city in the United States.' said the researchers
DW: What are the main factors driving the high levels of air pollution that are killing so many people in China at the moment?
Richard Muller and Robert Rohde: The dominant air pollution for health impact is PM2.5. That stands for "Particulate Matter" 2.5 microns and smaller. Previously people thought that this came from many sources, including automobiles, agricultural dust, dust from their extensive loess deposits, and from coal.
Our analysis indicates that it comes primarily from coal, used for electric power, for industrial energy, and for heating. The key to seeing this is that the sources of the PM2.5 closely match the sources of sulfur. Beijing is a major source of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), from automobiles, but not a major source of sulfur or PM2.5.
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