Think you’re living a healthy country life surrounded by greenery and general loveliness in the New Territories? Think again.
An environmental study has found that towns in the west of Hong Kong’s New Territories are suffering under worse air pollution than even downtown areas.
Analysis of the government’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), which was launched at the end of 2013, shows Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tung Chung are the towns worse effected by ozone, the most damaging pollutant in our air.
In total, the AQHI recorded 177 days when air pollutants were found to be high risk or above since the index was launched.
When broken down by area, Tung Mun came in top (or bottom, depending on if you’re a half-dead or half-alive kind of person) with 532 hours recorded as high risk or above in the past year, followed by Yuen Long with 515 hours and Tung Chung with 459.
Green Power, the environmental group that conducted the analysis, suggested that the reason for the bad air quality in the three towns could be to do with the aggressive development in the area.
The report warns that such construction pollution will likely increase in years to come as the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge is completed and the airport’s third runaway gets underway.
However, all three towns are also located close to the Pearl River Delta, and therefore may be affected by pollution drifting over from China. *Horrified gasp*
A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Agency said they would seek to strengthen cooperation with their counterparts in Guangdong.
