No time to relax in push for cleaner air
- Hong Kong’s main air pollutants may have fallen last year, but there is no room for complacency on the road to healthier transport and energy
We can breathe a bit easier knowing the city recorded its best air quality in a decade last year, but the whiff of success is at risk of being soured by complacency. An air quality report released by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) last Thursday showed “discernible improvement” in 2022 with annual average concentrations of the main air pollutants falling.
The roadside concentration of PM10 – tiny particulates that can get deep into our lungs – was 29 micrograms per cubic metre, down from 33 in 2021, 31 in 2020, and 38 in 2019. Nitrogen dioxide from vehicle exhaust and electricity generation also dropped.
Air quality in the Pearl River Delta region was also the cleanest since the mid-2000s.
Authorities admit the Covid-19 pandemic played a role, with land and sea transport slowing along with the economy. EPD assistant director Stephen Siu Chi-wai said the figures also showed that government policy was working. Siu said the city had been on the right track for 10 years, and the situation had not worsened even with the increase in economic activity at the end of last year.
Hong Kong records best air quality in decade amid Covid-19 economic slowdown
But while Hong Kong met air quality objectives for all four major pollutants, only one – sulphur dioxide – was measured at a low enough level to meet World Health Organization standards last year. Officials also remain concerned about ground-level ozone and, in 2022, such concentrations at roadsides hit a 10-year high. Vehicle emissions are a key ozone source and roadside pollution caused almost 3,000 premature deaths in 2021.
Officials hope greater adoption of electric cars and cleaner energy will help ensure the trend of improved air quality continues even as roads become busier and the economy picks up. They plan to further promote the use of e-vehicles, the sales of which are already said to be promising. Furthermore, green groups are calling for a more comprehensive approach, including pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly policies.
The government deserves praise for its progress so far, but it must work with its regional counterparts towards cleaner transport and energy as well as international benchmarks.
