NGO - Urban Air Quality Rankings for Provincial Capitals and Municipalities

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Stil

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April 20th 2012

1. Haikou
2. Kunming
3. Lhasa
4. Guangzhou
5. Fuzhou
6. Nanning
7. Guiyang
8. Hohhot
9. Nanchang
10. Changchun
11. Changsha
12. Shanghai
13. Yinchuan
14. Hangzhou
15. Shenyang
16. Chongqing
17. Tianjin
18. Shijiazhuang
19. Chengdu
20. Nanjing
21. Jinan
22. Xining
23. Harbin
24. Zhengzhou
25. Taiyuan
26. Wuhan
27. Xi'an
28. Hefei
29. Beijing
30. Urumqi
31. Lanzhou

http://is.gd/Z0m992

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Raoul F. Duke

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Good info! bjbjbjbjbj

Surprised places like Hohhot and Changchun made it into the top ten...I guess being coastal doesn't mean as much any more?
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

« Last Edit: September 02, 2016, 12:50:11 AM by Isidnar »

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Raoul F. Duke

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I know. And Hohhot and Changchun are in that top ten. bibibibibi
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

« Last Edit: September 02, 2016, 12:50:52 AM by Isidnar »

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Stil

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Good info! bjbjbjbjbj

Surprised places like Hohhot and Changchun made it into the top ten...I guess being coastal doesn't mean as much any more?


Yeah, and Changsha is 11th.

It's an ugly chick beauty contest though. The air in Changsha is not good but rates in the top half of the cities. Sad really.

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Raoul F. Duke

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Yeah. Changchun, at #10, has terrible black gritty air in the winter when everyone and their dog are burning soft-coal briquettes. We used to joke that the air there came in "regular" and "extra crispy". aaaaaaaaaa
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

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xwarrior

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Last year I stated to check out information on air quality but never got around to finishing a post for the Saloon. For what it is worth, this is what I found out:


There seems to be a lot of concern about air quality in China and I thought I would check out the situation in my city of Hangzhou (Zhejiang).
I found that it was not easy to track down the information I needed; it was even harder to make sense of the information I found.  So here is an attempt to clarify the reporting system in China.

1.   every country has a different system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_quality

2.   every country measures pretty much the same things but there are variations:
 Hong Kong - ambient respirable suspended particulate (RSP), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
China - 5 atmospheric pollutants, namely sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), suspended particulates (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3)

3.   the classification system can be anything they want it to be:

Hong Kong: see attachment
 
China:see attachment
 
To find daily reports for your area the best site is that of IPE(Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, which seems to be a collective of  ‘green’ NGO’s  :
http://www.ipe.org.cn/En/pollution/monitoring.aspx
1. select your province
2. select your city
3. select ‘ xxx Air Quality Daily Report and Analysis’
Note: Interesting to note that the graph reads from right to left. Also found that the scale on the y axis is not the same for all cities.

There is a lot of interest in the reporting system for Beijing with the American Embassy reporting ‘crazy mad’ readings on the same day that the authorities said the air was ok. Leaving aside the issue of measuring ( or not measuring)  small particles of pollutants,  I think that the main difference comes down to the spread of the many measuring stations around Beijing.
Some areas of Beijing (downtown/industrial) report high levels while others (urban fringe) report low levels. As the government report is an average of all results there is every chance that the air you are breathing is going to have more or less pollutants than the official report .
  
Up to now China has used  PM10 measurement as the basis for reports but is moving to PM2.5 as the standard. That will give a better idea of the amount of stuff in the air that can kill you.  
 
There are at least  two other sites with reports:

1. Ministry of Environmental Protection The People’s Republic of China
http://www.mep.gov.cn/
- you can click to the English version
http://english.mep.gov.cn/
- it has limited data for the day, but you can go cross-eyed trying to locate your city

2. richardstcyr has a guide to working out information provided by a Chinese site. I found it be too complex for my brain to handle – and I think that some of the figures are extrapolated:
http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/2011/03/all-china-expats-heres-how-to-find-out-your-citys-real-time-air-quality/
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler

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xwarrior

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Not so long ago we had to guess the quality of air in a city by its colour.

I think this site is worth checking out. The link is to Zhaoqing, but going to 'More Cities' may throw up details for your location:

http://aqicn.org/city/guangdong/zhaoqing/chengzhongzizhan/

It also gives historic data (past 5 days):
http://aqicn.org/city/zhaoqing/m/
and a 'Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map' for those who are numerically challenged:
http://aqicn.org/map/zhaoqing/
and other stuff.

THE GREAT CHINA BLACK LUNG COMPETITION OF SUNDAY (15 DEC 2013)

Can your city beat Nanjing - 212 (Very Unhealthy)  ?
 




« Last Edit: December 16, 2013, 04:03:04 AM by xwarrior »
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler


THE GREAT CHINA BLACK LUNG COMPETITION OF SUNDAY (15 DEC 2013)

Can your city beat Nanjing - 212 (Very Unhealthy)  ?
 

Surprised to find that right now the part of Harbin that I live in not only beats Nanjing but beats it comprehensively.... and to be perfectly honest the air today did not seem particularly bad to me. More aware today of how cold it was than the air.

The link to the part of Harbin I am in is
http://aqicn.org/city/china/haerbin/nangangxuefulu/.
This is in the middle of the city.

The results across Harbin are variable between 534 (where I am) (which is definitely Hazardous) and 243 (which is very unhealthy). This is at 9pm at night... For some reason it is actually significantly higher than it has been over the last few days now.
Sometimes it seems things go by too quickly. We are so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take the time to enjoy where we are. (Calvin and Hobbs)

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Stil

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Re: NGO - Urban Air Quality Rankings for Provincial Capitals and Municipalities
« Reply #11 on: December 16, 2013, 10:55:09 PM »
One of the good things about Qingdao is that the winds come off the ocean

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For you to insult me, first I must value your opinion

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xwarrior

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Re: NGO - Urban Air Quality Rankings for Provincial Capitals and Municipalities
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2013, 12:52:44 AM »



With stats like these you might think of migrating to Zhaoqing.

Then again, if I tell you that it has been raining here for 3 days you may have second thoughts.

Note: seems strange to have stats for Dew and Humidity ... but nothing for Rain. Maybe we are expected to assume that 100% humidity is the same as rain.
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler

Re: NGO - Urban Air Quality Rankings for Provincial Capitals and Municipalities
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2013, 01:29:16 AM »
Results in Harbin are definitely variable... The result at the time I posted last night is the highest in the last few days... and most of today it has been in the low to mid 200's.... Much much lower. At 7pm it was 215... And the graph shows how much lower it has been all day.

I am aware that 215 is still not a really good figure... but is there anyone else who lives somewhere with sometimes high figures who is simply not really aware of it. I know at the really bad point it does affect visibility etc... but to me that seems bad. But the figures last night were as bad as the worst we had I think but did not seem as obvious.
Sometimes it seems things go by too quickly. We are so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take the time to enjoy where we are. (Calvin and Hobbs)

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xwarrior

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Re: NGO - Urban Air Quality Rankings for Provincial Capitals and Municipalities
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2013, 04:51:09 AM »


If anybody is still alive in Xingtai please report to HQ.

I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler