Air Pollution and City Populations: Global Comparison - Essay Sample

Introduction

City Population Air Quality PM25 Levels My city Beijing 19,919,000 102 US AQI 25 µg/m3 Lung cancer rates over 60

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Other cities in the USA Hong Kong SAR 6,029,000 30 US AQI 6.6 µg/m3 Guangzhou 44,309,000 60 US AQI 14 µg/m3 Wuxi 12,010,00 84 US AQI 25 µg/m3 Shanghai 23,804,000 69 US AQI 16 µg/m3 City in Global North Mexico City, Mexico 19,821,000 45 US AQI Blow one µg/m3 City in Global South Seoul, South Korea 21,254,000 65 US AQI 20 µg/m3 From the analysis above, the outdoor pollution levels of Beijing are at an alarming rate when compared to the other cities. The carbon footprint per capita of Beijing stands at 83.7±19,1; this is the highest among all the cities in the table. Mexico City, which is a city in the Global North that shares almost the same size as the population as Beijing, has a low footprint per capita of 2.8 ±0.6. Seoul in South Korea also has almost the same population size as Beijing, but its footprint per capita is low at 13.0+ 2.4 when compared to Beijing. The PM25 concentration in Beijing is at 25 µg/m3, the highest among the cities in the table. Seoul, a city in the Global South like Beijing, comes second with 20 µg/m3. The air quality in Beijing when writing the essay is at 102 US AQI, also the highest in the table.

The statistics show how bad the air quality of Beijing is. The most significant air pollutants in Beijing city include the following; PM25 at 28 µg/m3, PM10 at 70.5 µg/m3, O3 at 58 µg/m3, NO2 at 27 µg/m3, SO2 at three µg/m3, and CO at 300 µg/m3 concentration levels. Most of these pollutants’ sources include vehicle emissions, with road and construction dust coming second. Also, most of the pollutants in Beijing comes from outside the city, with the wind carrying it over. Over the years, the quality of air in Beijing has improved drastically; it is not what it used to be a decade ago. Between 2005 and 2015, the city reduced the levels of PM25 by 47%, furthermore, in August 2019, the city recording their lowest instances and month in air pollution in a very long time; the PM25 concentration stood at a low, 23 micrograms per cubic meter (Wu, Li, Wang, Liu, & Hao, 2018). These improvements can be attributed to the measures put in place by both the city and the national government. China has witnessed a shift from the use of coal to natural gas, and the demand for electric cars has risen in the country.

Sustainable Solutions

Air pollution and its impacts in the city of Beijing has long been a well-documented crisis. The city of Beijing has put plans in place to reduce the increased levels and instances of air pollution. The plans used have worked considerably in no small effect; the strategies are still in place to decrease levels of air pollution in the city. The strategies in place include plans to decrease the gas emissions from greenhouses, improve resilience, and increase adaptations to the changes in climate. The measures put in place by the city include issuing of documents that advise on strategies to fight air pollution, strengthening the greening of land and control of dust. Another measure is carrying out special rectification of diesel trucks emissions that exceed the standards set by the national government. Promoting the regulation of bulk coal and the reduction and replacement of the consumption of coal is another measure set by the city. The city is made up of thirty-four stations belonging to the government. The stations are vital as they play a role in reporting measurements in real time. The last measure is making the comprehensive regulation of air pollution in industrial enterprises stronger.

The above-stated goals aim to reduce the levels of the harmful particles known as PM2.5 to a lower level required by both the national government and the World Health Organization (Who). Another aim is to regulate the burning of coal in the city and reduce vehicle emissions. The current levels of PM25 stand at 28 µg/m3; this was not the case in 2009, where the levels of PM25 stood at 101.8. the levels have reduced by more than half (WHO, 2020). The city still believes that more needs to be done to make the air safer hence the above plans. In my evaluation, I do not believe the plans put in place by the city are enough. The average air quality of Beijing is still four times more than what is recommended by WHO to achieve these goals, and more needs to be done (Li, Feng, & Li, 2017).

References

Li, S., Feng, K., & Li, M. (2017). Identifying the main contributors to air pollution in Beijing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 163, S359-S365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.127

Liu, J., Kiesewetter, G., Klimont, Z., Cofala, J., Heyes, C., Schöpp, W., ... & Guo, F. (2019). Mitigation pathways of air pollution from residential emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China. Environment international, 125, 236-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.09.059

Moran, D. (2020). Global Gridded Model of Carbon Footprints (GGMCF). Retrieved from: http://citycarbonfootprints.info/

WHO (2020) Who Global Ambient Air Quality Database. Retrieved from https://whoairquality.shinyapps.io/AmbientAirQualityDatabase/

Wu, Q., Li, G., Wang, S., Liu, K., & Hao, J. (2018). Mitigation options of atmospheric Hg emissions in China. Environmental science & technology, 52(21), 12368-12375. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b03702

Zhang, H., Wang, S., Hao, J., Wang, X., Wang, S., Chai, F., & Li, M. (2016). Air pollution and control action in Beijing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 1519-1527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.092