Pollution in Beijing, just how bad is it?

Question

I'm trying to get an article together for the environmental section of our school newspaper, and the 08' Olympics in Beijing is very interesting. Does anyone know of any good books, articles, or studies that may have some detailed information on how all this pollution is affecting the citizens in Beijing. Hopefully that will lead me on the right track to see just how bad it may be for the athletes who will be heading overseas to Beijing this summer.

Thanks you everyone

Answer 1

I recall something on pbs that mentioned that the river that flows thru there is so polluted that a public health warning had to be issued. Industrial waste discharges are at the center of this. To even touch the water in this river meant certain illness and lifetime health complications. Fishing was banned?

Answer 2

Pollution is a serious problem in Beijing. Specially in winter, when many people heat their homes with coal.

The main pollutant was suspended particulate matter, which is usually attributed to coal burning and automotive exhaust.

heres a great article

pollution capital of world

    * Jonathan Watts in Beijing

    * The Guardian,

    * Monday October 31 2005

This article appeared in the Guardian on Monday October 31 2005 on p22 of the International news section. It was last updated at 00:05 on October 31 2005.

As it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing has been awarded an unwelcome new accolade: the air pollution capital of the world.

Satellite data has revealed that the city is one of the worst environmental victims of China's spectacular economic growth, which has brought with it air pollution levels that are blamed for more than 400,000 premature deaths a year.

According to the European Space Agency, Beijing and its neighbouring north-east Chinese provinces have the planet's worst levels of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause fatal damage to the lungs.

An explosive increase in car ownership is blamed for a sharp rise in unhealthy emissions. In the past five years the number of vehicles clogging the capital's streets has more than doubled to nearly 2.5m. It is expected to top the 3m mark by the start of the Olympics in 2008.

Alarm about the perilous state of the environment has gathered pace in recent years. China is the world's second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, and the World Bank has warned it is home to 16 of the planet's 20 most air-polluted cities.

According to the European satellite data, pollutants in the sky over China have increased by about 50% during the past 10 years. Senior officials warn that worse is still to come. At a recent seminar Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the environmental protection agency, said that pollution levels could more than quadruple within 15 years unless the country can slow the rise in energy consumption and automobile use.

A recently published study, conducted by the Chinese Academy on Environmental Planning, blamed air pollution for 411,000 premature deaths - mostly from lung and heart-related diseases - in 2003. It said that a third of China's urban residents were exposed to harmful levels of pollution. More than 100 million people live in cities, such as Beijing, where the air is considered "very dangerous".

The political implications are also becoming more apparent. Health concerns, particularly regarding cancer and birth defects thought to be caused by chemical factories, have been a major factor in a recent wave of protests. Conservation groups say acid rain falls on a third of China's territory and 70% of rivers and lakes are so full of toxins they can no longer be used for drinking water.

Answer 3

I just don,t get why the Olympics are being held in Beijing...thats a place with a pollution problem.

Answer 4

NBC had a segment on it and showed pictures. It was so bad you could hardly see. This might be a place for you to start.

Answer 5

its bad enough that they don't have birds in the city most of the time---ugru