China Bad Air จีน: อากาศเป็นพิษ

China's Skies: Toxic levels of pollution
มลพิษเต็มท้องฟ้าสาธารณรัฐประชาชนจีน


มกราคม 2556                                                

No country in history has become a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage. China is clearly not an exception. The speed and scale of China's rise has brought an unprecedented pollution problem. Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China's leading cause of death according to the Ministry of Health. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The factories and spewing automobile engines recently caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled in and around Beijing. Stores are selling out of face masks and the government struggles to figure out this political challenge and provide relief of the long-term burden on its people. -- Paula Nelson

A woman wears a mask as she does her morning exercise outdoors in Fuyang, Anhui province, Jan. 14, 2013. China's environmental watchdog has ordered greater efforts to issue early warnings for air quality. (China Daily/Reuters) 

2  Window cleaners hang from the side of a building on an extremely hazy day in Beijing Oct. 26, 2012. China's heavily polluted capital plans to reduce air pollution levels by 15 percent by 2015 and 30 percent by 2020 by phasing out old cars, relocating factories and planting new forests. (David Gray/Reuters) #

3  Smoking chimneys and the cooling tower of a coal-burning plant stand next to electric pylons on a hazy day in Wuhan, Hubei province, Dec. 6, 2012. China will spend 350 billion yuan ($56 billion) by 2015 to curb air pollution in major cities. (Reuters) #

4  A laborer works atop a building in Hefei on a hazy day, Anhui province, Jan. 14, 2013. Chinese media reports the government had to take urgent action to tackle air pollution. (Reuters) #

5  Vehicles drive on the Third Ring Road on a very hazy winter day in Beijing, Jan. 12, 2013. Microscopic pollutant particles in the air have killed some 8,600 people prematurely in 2012 and cost $1 billion in economic losses in four Chinese cities, according to a study by Beijing University and Greenpeace. (Jason Lee/Reuters) #

6  Vehicles run slowly in heavy fog in Hefei, central China's Anhui province, Jan. 14, 2013. Shares in a Chinese face mask manufacturer soared on January 15 as investors looked for opportunities to cash in on the severe air pollution that has blanketed large swathes of China. (AFP/Getty Images) #

7  A woman helps adjust a mask for her friend outside an amusement park on a hazy day in Beijing, Jan. 12, 2013. Air pollution levels in China's notoriously dirty capital were at dangerous levels, with cloudy skies blocking visibility and warnings issued for people to remain indoors. (Alexander F. Yuan/Associated Press) #

8  A woman checks her phone during polluted weather in Beijing, Jan. 13, 2013. Dense smog shrouded Beijing, with pollution at hazardous levels for a second day and residents were advised to stay indoors. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

9  A woman waits for a bus in Beijing, Jan. 15, 2013. Public anger in China at dangerous levels of air pollution, which blanketed Beijing in acrid smog, spread as state media queried official transparency and the nation's breakneck speed of development. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

10  Buildings are shrouded in haze as pedestrians walk across a bridge above a main road in central Beijing Oct. 27, 2012. China's heavily polluted capital plans to reduce air pollution levels by 15 percent by 2015 and 30 percent by 2020 by phasing out old cars, relocating factories and planting new forests. (David Gray/Reuters) #

11  Cars run on an elevated road as buildings in the background are covered in haze, Beijing, China, Jan. 15, 2013. A succession of heavily polluted days hit Beijing, prompting the government to issue a first-ever orange warning. Heavy pollution and poor visibility led to the cancelation of flights, and several schools banned all outdoor activities. Air quality improved from 'dangerous' to 'unhealthy' on a sixth day of thick, grey skies that limited visibility and sent people to hospital with breathing difficulties. (Diego Azubel/EPA) #

12  A parking attendant stands on a roadside during severe pollution in Beijing, Jan. 12, 2013. Air quality data released via the US embassy twitter feed recorded air quality index levels so hazardous that they were 'Beyond Index'. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

13  A man rides in heavy fog in Hefei, central China's Anhui province Jan. 14, 2013. Shares in a Chinese face mask manufacturer soared on January 15 as investors looked for opportunities to cash in on the severe air pollution that has blanketed large swathes of China. (AFP/Getty Images) #

14   A man on a street on a hazy winter day in central Beijing, Jan. 13, 2013. Air quality in Beijing was the "worst on record", according to environmentalists, as the city's pollution monitoring centre warned residents to stay indoors with pollution 30-45 times above recommended safety levels. (Petar Kujundzic/Reuters) #

15  A man walks along trees on a heavy hazy winter day in central Beijing, Jan. 12, 2013. Microscopic pollutant particles in the air have killed some 8,600 people prematurely in 2012 and cost $1 billion in economic losses in four Chinese cities, according to a study by Beijing University and Greenpeace. (Jason Lee/Reuters) #