The Hongcouver | Breathe easy, Vancouver: Your worst air pollution would be welcome relief in Hong Kong
Vancouver’s recent smog alert can’t match everyday pollutant levels in the SAR
Residents were told to avoid strenuous outdoor exercise at certain times, with air conditions said to be of particular concern to infants, the elderly and the sick. Those already suffering ill-effects such as shortness of breath were told to stay indoors.
Such warnings might be commonplace in smoggy Hong Kong, but Vancouver?
The sense of discombobulation was enhanced by the gorgeous run of weather Vancouver was enjoying - clear blue skies and sunshine in brilliant abundance. If the warnings to stay indoors had any effect, it wasn’t on the happy hordes whose reddening bodies littered local parks like battle dead after the War of the Bikinis.
The only air pollutants I could detect were suntan lotion, barbeque smoke and the skunky whiff of BC bud that seems to accompany every merry outdoor activity in these parts.
So what gives? Should Hongkongers looking for a clean-air bolthole really be considering options other than Vancouver?