Air pollution hangs over the Bund in central Shanghai. 2008
This week’s ‘Photo of the Week’ is about a subject that is never too far away from the lips of China’s residents…air pollution. The above photograph was taken in Shanghai, in early 2008, towards the end of a trip I undertook travelling the Yangtze river. Shanghai is one of China’s most spectacular cities, however this alternative photo sheds the city in a different light. A somewhat greyish light, if you will.
The debate surrounding air pollution has always been intense. In the run up to the Olympic Games last summer, China famously banned cars from the roads, closed building sites and shut down factories ahead of the games, in attempt to clear up the air and protect competing athletes. Athletes arrived, some sporting masks, however it was generally perceived that air quality was improved during the games. A new study published just last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, has revealed that spectators and participants faced an “unprecedented level” of air pollution at the Games. Particulate air pollution in the air during the Beijing games was most worrying, well above the World Health Organisation’s safe limits and at levels almost 30% more than stated by experts in China.
