The airpocalypse is what people are calling the extended periods of smog that have been intensifying over the past few years in China’s capital Beijing. In the city deaths from lung cancer have increased by 56% over the decade up to 2010 coinciding with massive industrialization and an increase in the number of cars using the city’s street exceeding 5 million. The most serious problem appears to be PM2.5, minute particles released from fires and vehicle exhausts which has strong links to lung cancer. To counteract the effects of the smog particles all schools in the capital will be closed when smog incidents persist for more than three days. Twenty percent of the world’s confirmed cases of cancer now occur in china with atmopsheric pollution a major causative factor. Seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in China are in the Hebei province in the North of the country which is a major centre for coal powered electricity generation and steel manufacturing resulting in the heavy atmospheric pollution that also contributes to the problem in Beijing. In 2014 the city will be setting even stricter quotas on the number of new car registrations to just 150,000, a reduction of 40% over the previous year’s quota.
Nick Gray
No comments:
Post a Comment