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China pollution

China pollution
Latest news and analysis about the degradation of the air quality, water, marine environment and soil in China.
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Mainland China

Video | ‘If it gets any colder, you couldn’t take it’

In China’s Hebei province, rural residents say they cannot afford to heat their homes enough after the switch to natural gas from coal.

Accidents and disasters in China

How Beijing’s clean air success left China’s rural farmers in the cold

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Mainland China

When mines run dry: why some Chinese cities are racing to reinvent themselves

China energy security

China surpasses 10,000km of subsea pipelines, boosting offshore energy network

Pipeline network is designed to be able to carry green fuels, offering China more flexibility in its transition towards clean energy.

A worker stands on pipes at an offshore oil engineering company in China’s Shandong province. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Hong Kong AI start-up develops emission monitoring system, targets mainland

The AURA framework from ANTEI AI can help replace labour-intensive monitoring done in some countries, the CEO says.

Environment

New study revisits link between air pollution in East Asia and global warming

Scientist Bjorn Samset says discovery that clean-up may contribute to warming shows intricate nature of climate change and dynamics at play.

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Environment

Opinion | Is Asia’s cleaner air driving global warming?

Air pollution has held human-induced warming in check for the past century by acting as an artificial sunshade, a new study shows.

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A child holds a portable fan to cool off amid a yellow heat alert in Shanghai, China, on July 4. Photo: Reuters
China society

Opinion | Lead poisoning scandal in China shows tendency to cover up is still strong

Suppression of information in such cases is part of a familiar pattern of local government response.

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China’s Communist Party

Chinese lead poisoning scandal sparks backlash, echoing earlier controversies

Observers say alleged attempt to cover up high lead levels in kindergarteners follows pattern seen in other safety incidents in China.

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China energy security

Solar energy milestone: China taps the ocean in breakthrough for industry

The Qingdao-based project is projected to boost offshore power and help cut emissions by 14,000 tonnes annually.

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China’s first factory-scale all-seawater floating photovoltaic project was completed and put into use at Sinopec Qingdao Refining and Chemical on July 1, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Environment

Opinion | How Asia’s failure to cooperate is killing its rivers and oceans

The recent UN Ocean Conference was a missed opportunity for a region that has the means to save its marine environment, but not the political will.

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Child labourers collect plastic waste from the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 5. Photo: EPA-EFE
Environment

From Avatar to mountain of rubbish: China pulls decade of trash from caves

Officials say villagers dumped rubbish when the local government banned incineration but did not yet have a collection service.

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China society

Opinion | How China’s modernisation offers a new path to prosperity

Focused on equity and shared development outcomes, China’s path to modernity has both distinct characteristics and global relevance.

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Climate change

Opinion | China must resist greenwashing its dirty coal habit with green bonds

Can China credibly claim climate leadership while doubling down on its dirtiest fuel?

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Vehicles transfer coal at a port in Chongqing, southwestern China on April 20. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong environmental issues

Editorial | Raise awareness of air pollution hazards in Hong Kong

We can’t control the weather, but proper warnings must be issued in a timely manner so that Hongkongers can take appropriate precautions.

Smoggy weather has struck Hong Kong in recent days, in the worst such case in years. Photo: Jelly Tse
China food security

Beijing bids adieu to ‘basic’ farmland with plan to supercharge soil

When it’s basic farmland vs ‘well-facilitated’ farmland, the latter considerably outperforms in cost and yield.

Business of climate change

Hang Lung pushes for faster decarbonisation in construction sector

Developer urges quicker regulatory progress and pilot programmes to expedite low-carbon material adoption, vital for decarbonising the sector.

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China energy security

China’s nuclear power ambitions at core of energy security amid safety concerns

Now the world’s biggest market for nuclear power, China has more than 100 reactors in use or being built along the nation’s coastline.

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With a combined installed capacity of 113 million kilowatts, China currently has 102 reactors in use or being built. Image: Shutterstock
Art

Art made from plastic waste on Chinese beaches makes a statement

Fu Junsheng collects plastic that washes up on China’s Miaodao islands and turns it into art that highlights the problem of marine pollution.

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Smog shuts New Delhi schools, Shanghai tops pollution list: 6 environment stories

From India’s toxic smog crisis to McDonald’s tackling cow methane, explore the global fight against pollution in our latest stories on the environment.

Shanghai

Shanghai is world’s most polluting city, says new data revealed at Cop29

While the Chinese city was found to be worse than all of Colombia or Norway, a site in Texas ‘is the worst polluting site in the entire world’.

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A man rides a bicycle near a power station in Shanghai. File photo: AFP
China energy security

China takes aim at energy replacement with industry-spanning plan for renewables

More energy must come from renewable sources, but transition from fossil fuels will be orderly, top economic planner says.

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China has unveiled a renewable-energy-substitution plan that spans multiple industries. Photo: AFP
Science

All-bamboo plastic a step closer to reality with new processing recipe: study

Chinese researchers say technique to ‘remodel’ the tall grass into a plastic substitute could soon produce eco-friendly utensils, hats, phone cases and more.

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Climate change

Opinion | China’s refusal to say no to coal could nix renewable energy gains

China must resist justifying more coal power as the state grid struggles to deal with the surge in renewable energy.

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China society

Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

The reforms outlined in the third plenum sets the groundwork for deepening efforts such as poverty alleviation to sustainable development.

A giant screen shows President Xi Jinping attending the Communist Party’s third plenary session in Beijing on July 18. Photo: Reuters
China energy security

Beijing urged to quell ‘fluctuations and volatility’ stifling renewable energy

Power capacity and infrastructure are vital to China’s green transition and hi-tech ambitions, but ‘power abandonment’ is a critical setback.

Nationwide solar-generation-capacity installation surged in China by 52.2 per cent in the first five months of 2024, year on year. Photo: Reuters
Singapore

Singapore study links air pollution to 135 million premature deaths

The study is one of the most expansive to date, using 40 years of data to give a big-picture view of the effects of air quality on health.

China energy security

China targets wasted production, taking aim at pollution and overcapacity

Four industrial sectors have been singled out – steel, petrochemicals, non-ferrous metals, and building materials – with new capacity strictly prohibited or restricted in certain subsectors.

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