bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Environmental experts say record pollution levels are a 'clear and worrying trend'

Bad air days are on a steeply rising track at Tung Chung, which was hit by a record pollution reading on Tuesday.

Environmental experts said the 'clear and worrying trend' pointed to worse ahead.

They said it was a key indicator of regional air pollution because of Tung Chung's proximity to sources of pollution in the Pearl River Delta.

So far this year there have been 116 hours when levels of respirable suspended particulates (RSP) - dust, smoke or fuel ash  small enough to reach the lungs - have exceeded the recommended maximum of 180 micrograms per cubic metre.

But it is more than twice the 56 hours recorded in 1999. Last year, there were 101 hours when RSPs exceeded the recommended maximum.

A similar trend with ozone, a pollutant generated by photochemical reactions, was a key reason for Tuesday's record reading.

The number of hours with excessive concentration - over 240  micrograms per cubic metre - has risen from 26 hours for all of last year to 41 hours so far this year. In 1999, there were only three hours. At the height of Tuesday's pollution at Tung Chung, the reading was more than 400 micrograms per cubic metre. The number of hours with excessive pollutants  actually fell in 2000 and 2001 but turned up sharply in 2002.

Alexis Lau Kai-hon,  associate professor of the Centre of Coastal and Atmospheric Research, University of Science and Technology, said the figures indicated a clear and worrying trend.

'Now we have got more episodes of hazy days in summer. What is going to happen in winter could be more serious,' he said.

'If we blame it on the calm weather, how can we explain that there were much fewer hazy days in the past? The ultimate answer lies in the fact that there are much more pollutants in the whole region.'

Professor Lau said  RSPs, primary pollutants generated from vehicles and power plants, reflected the air quality better than ozone, which could fluctuate as weather changed.

He also cast doubts on speculation that the location of the town at the foot of high hills or its close proximity to the airport was a major factor behind the high pollution readings.

Instead, he said weak westerly land to sea breezes could send the pollutants from the Pearl River Delta into the western part of the city.

Of the top ten air pollution readings in Hong Kong, six were taken in Tung Chung. Yesterday, the air pollution index there reached 162.

The Hong Kong government and  Guangdong authorities have agreed to cut regional emissions of major pollutants by 2010.

These measures include desulphurisation of power plants, use of cleaner fuel and emissions-trading schemes.



Bad air days rising in Tung Chung