No wind, sunny days leave Hong Kong choking in polluted haze

Victoria Harbour is that you? Hong Kong was clouded with a thick and unhealthy smog over the weekend. Screengrab via Apple Daily.
Victoria Harbour is that you? Hong Kong was clouded with a thick and unhealthy smog over the weekend. Screengrab via Apple Daily.

Large swathes of the city found themselves choking under a smoggy haze over the weekend, as air quality stations around Hong Kong recorded high to very high health-warning levels.

In a statement to Coconuts HK, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) blamed the incredibly smoggy conditions over the weekend on a lack of wind and what’s been balmy weather the past couple of weeks.

The department explained that little to no wind “hinders effective dispersion of air pollutants,” and that sunlight triggers a chemical reaction in these air pollutants, which creates smog.

The combination of those two factors, the EPD explained, resulted in high pollution in Hong Kong across southern China’s Pearl River Delta region over the weekend.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) even reported that visibility at Victoria Harbour had dropped to a “rather low level” of 2 kilometers

According to the SCMP, air quality stations in Central and Mong Kok reached the “very high” health risk at noon on Saturday, and by 6pm, 12 other stations reached the same mark.

Apple Daily meanwhile reported that on Saturday afternoon, in areas reporting a very high health risk, the concentrations of two major particulate matters [a mix of solid particles and liquid droplets]  — PM10 and PM2.5 — exceeded 130 and 90 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 over a period of 24 hours should be no more than 50 and 25 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. PM10 and PM2.5 pollution can have health impacts even at very low concentrations as the particles are so small they can penetrate and lodge themselves inside your lungs.

Although air quality index (AQI) readings improved slightly since the weekend, as of 3pm today, the AQI was still reported to be at an “unhealthy” level.

Screengrab via aqicn.org.
Screengrab via aqicn.org.

Members of the public were advised by the EPD over the weekend not to take part in any outdoor activities in high-risk areas, and to stay indoors, though that clearly didn’t stop some people from venturing outside to see the haze.

https://twitter.com/katieforster/status/1083982110828814336

People took to social media to share photographs of Hong Kong shrouded by the haze, with some users even likening them to scenes from a post-apocalyptic video game or movie.

A dust-covered road sign in Tseung Kwan O. Photo via Facebook/Harvey Kat.
A dust-covered road sign in Tseung Kwan O. Photo via Facebook/Harvey Kat.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155832708280927&set=g.1459721640971316&type=1&theater&ifg=1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156683942736953&set=g.1459721640971316&type=1&theater&ifg=1

Fortunately, Hongkongers won’t have to wait too long for a gust of wind to hit the city. According to the HKO’s nine-day forecast, it’s going to be a cloudy week with some rain patches as the northeast monsoon reaches southern China tomorrow.

Temperatures will also drop to 14 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, so remember to bring a coat that day.

This week's forecast. Screengrab via Hong Kong Observatory.
This week’s forecast. Screengrab via Hong Kong Observatory.


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