{"id":6421,"date":"2013-09-23T10:19:19","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T03:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seangallagher.wpengine.com\/?p=6421"},"modified":"2013-09-23T10:19:19","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T03:19:19","slug":"live-air-pollution-can-kill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gallagher-photo.com\/live-air-pollution-can-kill\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Live Where The Air Can Kill You? Check This Map To Find Out"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NASA<\/a>
NASA – Earth Observatory – Click to Enlarge Map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I do live where the air can kill you. Actually, I think I am based in the capital of cities where the air can kill you. Beijing.<\/p>\n

According to this map released by NASA, China’s capital isn’t the only city however that suffers from air pollution levels so severe that they pose a major health risk to those that live under the grey skies which regularly envelop them.<\/p>\n

According to NASA<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“The map above shows the model estimate of the average number of deaths per 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) per year due to air pollution. The researchers used the difference in pollution levels between 1850 and 2000 as a measure of human-caused air pollution. Dark brown areas have more premature deaths than light brown areas. Blue areas have experienced an improvement in air quality relative to 1850 and a decline in premature deaths. Fine particulate matter takes an especially large toll in eastern China, northern India, and Europe\u2014all areas where urbanization has added considerable quantities of PM2.5 to the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution.”<\/p>\n

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It’s a depressing read. For bringing this to your attention on a Monday, I apologise. Not a great start to the week, I admit.<\/p>\n

If my colour acuity is up to scratch on this hazy Monday morning in Beijing, it appears that the worst affected areas on the map are north-east China (including Beijing, Tianjin and Shandong Province), Tokyo, Java (Indonesia), northern India (south of the Himalayas), a number of cities in Europe and Mexico City in Central America.<\/p>\n

Best Advice for Photographing Air Pollution<\/strong><\/p>\n

#1 Get a Good Mask<\/strong> – The number one priority is to protect yourself. Invest in a good mask that is going to protect you while spending hours outside.
\n\"air-pollution-sean-gallagher\"

The implications of living in a city, such as Beijing, which is afflicted with severe air pollution, are very real for residents. On bad days, children and the elderly are encouraged not to go outside, visibility drops to a couple of hundred metres and the sun disappears from sight, often for days at a time.<\/p>\n

In China, the public are not sitting back anymore about this issue. Particularly severe pollution in January of this year seemed to light a spark amongst the general populace who suddenly turned to blogs and social media about the plight of grey skies. They had had enough. So now the issue is very much in the public’s consciousness and is a topic that regularly comes up in conversations. <\/p>\n