Pollution levels compared to the world

Hi ED, could you post Hong Kong's pollution levels compared to other major cities on your site? Or how they compare to what the real world would consider low / moderate / high? I'm tired of hearing the pollution here is "moderate" on some days when you can't see through the air. We need some widely accepted benchmark rather than just listening to what ATV or Pearl has to say on the nightly news.

I have tried to get this info but it doesnt seem to be available because HK doesnt use the standardized measurement system...


Saw something the other day though that indicated that we were about twice as bad on most days as the cities that D Tsang said we were as clean as...

I have worked in HK, Tokyo & Seoul. I'd say HK is far, far worse than Tokyo or Seoul using my nose, lungs and eyes as measuring tools!

I spend most of my time in Bangkok setting up our offices here - and if you can beleive it, escaping the horrible HK air pollution.


When I return to HK generally within 24 hours the respiratory (hacking cough) recurr... when i am in BKK i never have such problems and when I look out the window of my apt most days the sky is clear for as far as the eye can see...


HK is more of a mess than the govt puts on...

Been in HK for 12 years and saw the situation getting really bad over the years. I am currently travelling around the US and came back for a few days over Thanksgiving. I had a sore throat everynight before going to bed and I am 100% sure it was related to the pollution. I think of Hong Kong as my home, but I am now thinking about reloacting somewhere else because of the air quality. Once the big guys in HK (electricity and owners of factories across the border) understand how bad it is, something might change...But as long as the economy is good for them, I really don't expect the government to lift their little finger...Everybody knows that only HK is money driven and the rest is not important...

I have been here almost 16 years. For a while I lived on DB (argh!) but I remember climbing up the back of the hills there and being able to see North Point from the top, as well as Chep Lap Kok being built.

I now work in Wanchai with a great (if that is the word) sea view and when I can even see Kowloon side I almost figure it is a good day, nevermind the fact that the govt. tells us it is "Medium". Bow-tie must be more cretinous than ever I thought he was.

But as will always be the case here in HK, the almighty $$ rules, and until the sons and daughters of Tsang and the rest of his monied up cronies start dropping with illnesses, not one single thing will change.

Of that you can be sure.

I can say, having become a father for the first time recently, that the moment my son starts showing any kind of signs of problems with his breathing - asthma, all that sort of thing - then I am going on my hands and knees to my head office in California and gonna get them to send me to Singapore.

I have a Marine Biologist friend who once told me that on certain 'hazy' days, if LA were registering the same index then schools would be closed and something like a sort of evacuation would take place (the last bit i'm not too sure on) but even so, makes you think.

Maybe this will help, its confusing because the API is based on the Hong Kong’s Air Quality

Objectives (AQO) which were set in 1987 or thereabouts. The quote below is pretty scary stuff, basically even on days with a low API the levels of some pollutants are way above WHO guidelines, happy breathing!

“Hong Kong’s AQOs are grossly out of date and have not been reviewed even when other

developed countries including the US, European Union, Australia and the UK, have

progressively tightened their standards,” commented Professor TW Wong from Chinese

University of Hong Kong’s Department of Community Medicine. He added, “there is still no

explicit acknowledgment by the Government that AQOs should be set up for the protection of

public health”.

Professor Anthony Hedley of the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Hong

Kong firmly (HKU) elaborated, “the adoption of the WHO Air Quality Guidelines is vitally

important in Hong Kong to protect the health of both children and adults. The differences

between Hong Kong’s average pollutant levels and the new WHO Air Quality Guidelines are

responsible for a huge burden of illness each year, including about 1,600 deaths (4 per day),

64,200 hospital admissions (176 per day) and 6,811,960 doctor visits (18,600 per day). These

serious health outcomes result in annual community losses of over HK$2 billion in direct health

care costs and productivity losses and HK$19 billion in intangible costs for pain, suffering and

personal loss.”

Professor Alexis Lau of the Institute for Environment at Hong Kong University of Science and

Technology (HKUST) explained that “the current Air Pollution Index (API) is derived from Hong

Kong’s current AQOs. Our lax AQOs lead to lower API values, which in turn mislead the public

as they under-represent the health impacts of the ambient air.”

Professor Hedley further clarified that even “Low” API readings are associated with

concentrations of pollutants that are clearly shown to be harmful by WHO research. For

example, for a “low” API of 25, particulates (PM10) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) will be 32% to

100% above the WHO Air Quality Guidelines.”

Dr CM Wong also from HKU, Department of Community Medicine highlighted Hong Kong’s

recent poor air quality, “in November 2006 pollution levels have been extremely high as

measured at both general and roadside stations. For instance, on 19th – 20th November 2006,

general monitoring stations showed that particulates were 86 micrograms per cubic meter

(ug/m3) and SO2 55 ug/m3 while roadside levels were 107 ug/m3and 50 ug/m3, respectively.

These levels are higher than the WHO Air Quality Guidelines by 150% (for SO2) and 300-400%

(for PM10).”

Using this recent data Dr. Wong estimated that doctor visits, hospital admissions and deaths

are occurring at annual rates of:

• 6 million (based on general stations air pollution levels) to 10 million (based on roadside

stations air pollution levels) doctor visits;