Every year Beijing’s brutal air quality (and even brutal-er public reporting on it) makes international news. But this year Beijing finds itself with a domestic P.R. problem in which its own citizens are no longer willing to accept the gov’s Orwellian “blue sky days”, “fog” and “light” pollution levels. And a large amount of the credit goes to… the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

From Beijing Air Pollution Brouhaha:
“Since flights at Beijing’s airport have been canceled on any number of occasions over the past two decades because of pollution, why all the attention now?

“Several reasons… But the real catalyst for the current contretemps is the U.S. Embassy. If Beijing citizens were once resigned to living in this alternative state of reality, then that’s no longer the case. The U.S. Embassy has changed the way the game is played. On a daily basis, the embassy tweets data reflecting the real air quality for the area in which the embassy resides. Last Sunday, for example, as NPR reported, the pollution recorded by the embassy hit a level described as “beyond index.” The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection, in contrast, reported the air pollution as “light.””

We’ve got lots of our own stuff on pollution in the Beijing area, including comparison photos. See our Pollution category for everything.

Here’s a link to recent air pollution photos from Beijing, and a bit about trying to get real pollution stats to the Chinese public:

Photos: Smog-shrouded China denies citizens right to know pollutant measurements

We’ve got lots more on pollution in China, including our own comparison photos, in our Pollution category.

Beijing’s air quality is making news rounds again, partly because some Chinese bloggers discovered a company that claims to provide air purification equipment for the homes and offices of government officials, adding clean air to a long list of resented privileges. It’s long been known that Beijing and other local governments drastically downplay the pollution levels to their own populations (see our own comparisons here and here). If you aren’t familiar with the remarkable air pollution situation in Beijing, Tianjin and much of the rest of China, here are three recent articles to catch you up:

• U.S. Embassy air quality data undercut China’s own assessments
  “Perched atop the U.S. Embassy in Beijing is a device about the size of a microwave oven that spits out hourly rebukes to the Chinese government. One day this month, the reading was so high compared with U.S. standards it was listed as ‘beyond index.’ But China’s own assessment that day was that Beijing’s air was merely ‘slightly polluted.’”
• The Privileges of China’s Elite Include Purified Air
  “But even in their most addled moments of envy, ordinary Beijingers could take some comfort in the knowledge that the soupy air they breathe on especially polluted days also finds its way into the lungs of the privileged and pampered. Such assumptions, it seems, are not entirely accurate.”
• ‘Time Is Not Ripe’ for Honest Air Pollution Readings
  “state-run media did little to suggest Beijing was prepared to tackle its air pollution levels, among the worst of the world’s major cities. The state-run Global Times newspaper early this week reported a dense “fog” had descended over the capital. The local government was reporting “slight” pollution levels even as readings by the U.S. Embassy described pollution as “hazardous.””

For more of our crying about how unbelievably brutal the air quality is, with pictures to help you believe (that’s right: we can photograph the air), see our Pollution category, or check out these selected bits:

• Beijing/Tianjin air polluton advisory warnings: Chinese vs. American
• Tianjin: Where Jogging is Bad For Your Health
• Behold the power of China’s weather gods!
• Chewing Tianjin’s Air
• Putting the OMG! in Smog

Here’s an update on the environmental situation in China. From The Choking of China – and the World: “the Chinese government has less control than foreign observers assume. … the state lacks the authority to impose pollution regulations and wildlife conservation laws, while at the bottom citizens lack the … tools … to defend their land, air and water. Inbetween there stand corporations and corrupted local governments bent exclusively on profit and growth, whatever the cost. So when it comes to protecting the environment, the authority of the authoritarian state looks alarmingly shaky. Yet at the same time, China’s leaders are – like ours – refusing to pursue the big projects that could haul us out of these dilemmas.”

And from Lessons from the Tiger: “Most of the environmental accidents of 2010 involved state-owned energy and mining firms. It is clear that the management styles of these companies are out of date, their systems lack early warning signals and they have no concern for the public interest. In this sense, pollution in China is not merely a natural consequence of economic growth, but rather the result of a series of human errors.

“The system of government supervision is also full of holes. … An overly close relationship between government and business has led both the executive and the judiciary to neglect their responsibilities when responding to such events. … Moreover, there has been no effort to deal with the root causes of the pollution.”

From MyHealth Beijing: “I think this graph is a great visual reminder for Beijingers who get a bit blasé or burned out from all the pollution hype (and who isn’t?). Our AQI spikes weren’t as high as that 1952 disaster, but certainly we have many days in emergency/hazardous ranges over 300 AQI — and one would expect similar bumps in mortality during those days. And of course that doesn’t include the non-death incidences of heart attacks, angina, asthma exacerbations, bronchitis, pneumonias, etc.”
Yes, Short-Term Pollution Can Hurt — Here’s Graphic Proof

There are both political and cultural reasons for why, in China, they won’t just come out and tell you: “The air pollution is so horrible it’s off the scale. Stay inside and try not to breathe too deeply this week because the air is actually killing you.” Telling people upsetting news is not considered a cultural virtue in China. For example, doctors and family members will usually not tell a terminally ill family member that they are in fact terminal. And you don’t need me to explain the political reasons.

This week has seen a string of worse-than-usual-but-certainly-not-unheard-of bad air days. Now, to put that in perspective, we’re talking air that maxes out the re-calibrated scale at 500. In North America the scale only goes to 300, before which point they would declare an emergency and cancel all outdoor activities for everyone. Here’s what’s been said about the air the last few days, in English:

From the U.S. Embassy: “Crazy Bad”

this week, the depth and murkiness of the haze was so appalling that the automated system briefly entered the realm of black comedy with a “crazy bad” analysis of our air.

The “crazy bad” terminology … appeared to have been a joke embedded in the embassy’s monitoring program and triggered by a reading that was off the normal scale.

US officials quickly deleted “crazy bad” and replaced it with the term “beyond index”, but not before the original message was widely retweeted by shocked Beijingers.

It looks like they’re having trouble with their monitoring equipment now. I guess either they messed it up when they “fixed” it, or the equipment has collapsed under the sheer weight of accumulated airborne particles.

From MyHealth Beijing: “This is not a drill, people…”

This is not a drill, people: the Beijingair website (http://iphone.bjair.info) for three days has been recording air pollution levels in the highest levels far above 300 AQI, and as of 7am Friday is 477 AQI. Peaks each day have tilted the machine at 500 AQI. This is indeed considered “emergency conditions”, and all schools and other places should be putting forward their action plans — clearly this would include cancelling all outdoor activities. That includes no outdoor recess, especially for toddlers.

We have a toddler — should we just buy a sun lamp and keep her inside?

Compare that to what’s been said in Chinese weather updates automatically sent to one of my coworker’s cells phones from his phone company:

Soft & Fragrant brief: Today the sky is subjected to the effect of relatively strong winds, scattering sand has appeared in our city; wear a face mask as much as possible when you go out, after coming back inside promptly wash your hands and face.
温馨提示：今天白天受较大风力的影响，我市出现了扬沙，建议您减少室外逗留时间；外出时尽量带个口罩，回到室内后及时清洗手和脸。

Weather Office 6:00 Announcement: Downtown today day and night clear with occasional clouds, 3rd-grade north wind changing to 4 or 5-grade, temperature will reach 1 degree below zero. Weather will get cold, reinforce warm protection of the head, head and chest; the indoor temperature difference increases, promptly put on and take off your coat.
气象台6点发布：市区今天白天到夜间晴间多云，北风3级转4-5级，到零下1度。天气干冷，头脚胸部的保暖需加强；室内温差加大，及时穿脱外套。

Soft & Fragrant brief: Currently our city is pervaded with fog, visibility is lower than 500 meters, when you go out pay attention to traffic safety. In foggy weather, you should decrease outdoor activities as much as possible. This afternoon, the fog will gradually weaken, the sky will turn clear.
温馨提示：目前我市雾气弥漫，能见度低于500米，外出注意交通安全。在有雾的天气里，应尽量减少室外活动。今天午后，雾气逐渐减弱，天空转晴。

That’s right folks, nothing to see here, just clouds and fog, not that you could see anything with visibility at less than (a very generous) 500 meters.

It’s no secret that BJ spins the public numbers when it comes to monitoring air pollution. I’ve compared the actual numbers before:

• Tianjin: where jogging is bad for your health

For a visual comparison of a clear day vs. a “foggy” day, see:

• Behold the power of China’s weather gods!
• Chewing Tianjin’s Air
• Putting the OMG! in Smog

For basic information about air pollution and air pollution monitoring:

• Everything you wish you didn’t know about air pollution in China
• Tianjin: where jogging is bad for your health

See our Pollution category for the rest of our pollution whining.

This visualization of satellite-derived air pollution data shows us that China really is red after all! Click the photo to view full size.

Found this via Jo at Outside-In.typepad.com. The NASA page is here: New Map Offers a Global View of Health-Sapping Air Pollution

The Ministry of Environmental Protection acknowledged on Monday that the first half of 2010 had the worst air quality since 2005.

The good doctor in Beijing recently conducted a new air pollution survey around the city, comparing indoor and outdoor pollution, and the effects of things like air purifiers.

There’s also an air pollution Q&A with another doctor in Beijing about the actual effects on healthy people and when and where to exercise.

Here’s a satellite image of the area encompassing Beijing and Tianjin, wish an explanation of what makes the air pollution particularly bad here.

Last night, 7:23, according to the monitoring equipment installed in the U.S. embassy in Beijing:

What “500″ means:

150+ = “Unhealthy”, 200+ = “Very Unhealthy”, 300+ = “Hazardous”. So what are we supposed to call it when it maxes out the scale?

Of course, you might be wondering what the Ministry of Environmental Protection was reporting at the same time:

The Chinese version site had the same:

As we couldn’t see down the street today, I don’t wonder who’s numbers are more accurate. However, three things you need to know about comparing pollution numbers:

1. Part of the reason for the discrepancy is that China doesn’t monitor the smaller, more harmful forms of air pollution.
2. It also helps that they shifted the location of their monitoring equipment to get better averages and record more “blue sky days”.
3. Measurement scales vary from country to country. You can see how China’s pollution scale compares to those of Honk Kong and the U.S. here: API and PM10 – health and here: Using the Beijing Air Quality Index (AQI) – Part I. These are also helpful (Wikipedia): Air Quality Index and Air Pollution Index. This site has a convenient widget that lets you compare China’s interpretation of its current pollution levels with that of other countries.

On days like this you can smell it as soon as you open the front door and see it just by looking across the street.

We first found these sites via MyHealth Beijing. Click the screen shots to view the source pages. See the links below for some pollution photos.

Related:

• Behold the power of China’s weather gods!
• Everything you wish you didn’t know about air pollution in China