Avoid complacency as Hong Kong air pollution creeps back
- An old problem re-emerges as life returns to normal in post-pandemic Hong Kong, and vigilance is required
- Air quality slips slightly in 2023 to second best year since 1997
Slowly and steadily, Hong Kong is recovering from the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. While the city is arguably no longer the same in many respects, the return to normality means many old problems have also come back.
Pollution is undoubtedly one of them.
According to the latest air quality report released by the government, air pollution returned to a “normal level” last year. This followed “slight” increases in pollutants such as respirable suspended particulates (PM10), fine suspended particulates (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide.
“With the resumption to normality of social and economic activities, the emissions of local air pollutants returned to their normal levels,” a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said.
The public was relieved to learn last year that the air quality in 2022 was the best in a decade. Notwithstanding increases in some pollutants, the overall quality in 2023 was, thankfully, the second best since reunification in 1997, according to the department.
Except for PM2.5, which remained at a similar level, the ambient levels of the other air pollutants improved by 7 to 20 per cent when compared to 2021. The improvement trend remained unchanged, officials said.
Whether we feel any difference in the air we breathe is perhaps a matter of opinion. But many miss the days when the sky looked bluer and the streets felt less chokey, thanks to fewer vehicles on the roads and factory shutdowns across the border during the height of the pandemic.
But the situation still compares favourably to that decades ago. For instance, the number of hours of reduced visibility in Hong Kong has greatly decreased, by 81 per cent from its peak in 2004, according to the report.
Hong Kong air quality improvements could prevent 3,150 premature deaths a year
The city has come a long way in fighting air pollution, and the government is to be commended for taking the lead. But while air quality is said to have improved considerably over the years, we must continue to strive for it to be cleaner instead of settling with complacency.
This includes legislating for less-polluting materials, and pursuing more stringent air quality standards, as well as further vigorous cross-border collaboration, for further improvement.
