Put on your face mask, turn on your air purifiers, but don’t start your engines! The Pig-tailed mascot for the Shanghai Air Quality Reporting System is bawling her eyes out.
Shanghai Air quality is no laughing matter, and expats need to take precautions.
For Shanghai air quality today check out the current AQI index reading on the right side column of this page.
In this article we take a look back to when air quality in Shanghai first became a serious issue in 2013.
We look at the reasons air pollution increases during the winter months in Shanghai and the serious impact it has on our health.
For more air quality information please see:
- Shanghai Air Quality 2018
- Shanghai Smog in 2017
- Air quality in China in 2017
- Air pollution solutions
- China Air Pollution Action Plan 2018-2020
Air Pollution Spreads to Shanghai in 2013
Prior to 2013 Beijing’s poor air quality was well known to China-based expats, as well as people overseas. In the winter of 2012/2013, Shanghai was finally also hit by serious air pollution.
Stories of expats leaving Beijing due to air pollution concerns had been common for several years. Now, media reports that many expats were considering leaving Shanghai for the same reason also surfaced.
In November, 2013 the AQI and PM2.5 readings in Shanghai began to hit hazardous levels.
On November 4th the ambient air concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reached 140 ug/m3, almost twice the China national 24-hour standard for healthy air of 75 ug/m3. On November 15th the PM2.5 concentration climbed to 228 ug/m3.
But that was just the start!
In early December, the PM2.5 and AQI readings soared through the charts, setting all-time records. Not something to be proud of!
On December 2nd, the city issued its first ever Orange air quality warning (AQI exceeding 300). And on December 6th the PM2.5 concentration exceeded 600 ug/m3; surpassing the maximum possible corresponding AQI value of 500. Any amount above 500 is labeled as ‘Beyond Index’ as you can see from this index chart for December 6th, 2013
For all of 2013, the number of “Good” air quality days in Shanghai was 241; meaning 124 days of poor air quality.
Air Pollution Warning Alert System
Shanghai experienced so many consecutive poor air quality days in November and December 2013 that the Shanghai Environmental Authority decided to raise the bar for air pollution alerts from a PM2.5 concentration of 75 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) to 115 ug/m3.
Shanghai citizens did not take this issue lightly! Shanghai Air Quality was voted the number one story of 2013 in a poll organized by the Shanghai Daily newspaper.
Measures Taken to Improve Air Quality
On October 18th, 2013, the local Shanghai government unveiled its comprehensive plan to improve air quality; The Shanghai Clean Air Action Plan.
This plan has been touted as the first regulation in China to prevent and control volatile compounds that cause PM2.5, such as carbon dioxide.
The action plan’s aim was to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 by 20 percent relative to the 2012 level by 2017. This goal became Shanghai’s official target as part of the National government’s Ministry of Environmental Protection’s liability paper signed with many cities and provinces in January 2014.
Wu Qizhou, deputy director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, stated:
“One of the highlighted measures in the Shanghai plan is forbidding coal burning.”
According to the plan, more than 2,500 boilers and 300 industrial furnaces that use coal would be closed down, or shifted to clean energy, by 2015. And coal firing will be completely banned in Shanghai by 2017.
The plan also substantially increased punishments for factories, vehicles and restaurants emitting excessive pollutants.
As well, the plan laid out emergency actions to be taken when the air quality index (AQI) exceeded 300; including the closing of public schools, factories and construction sites, and the forced removal of one third of government vehicles from the roads.
Such measures were similar to those announced for Beijing. Beijing’s emergency measures, however, only kicked in when the AQI hit 500.
In late January 2014, Shanghai’s Party Secretary Han Zheng announced that a ban on the burning of straw within all of Shanghai would be introduced.
Cooperation With Neighboring Provinces
In early January 2014 Shanghai launched a joint effort with its three neighboring provinces; Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui, to tackle air pollution. This effort was a recognition that Shanghai could not solve the poor air quality issue by itself.
Winter Air Quality in Shanghai
So why does air quality worsen so much during the winter months in Shanghai?
According to Qian Hua, director of the research institute of atmospheric environment under the Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, during the summer months Shanghai winds blow mainly from the South East off the ocean.
During the winter months, however, winds from the North dominate.
As winter arrives, Northern municipalities start turning on their central heating systems. These systems used mainly coal-burning boilers at the time. The northern wind, therefore, carried large amounts of coal emissions south, having a large effect on Shanghai Air Quality. (Fortunately, in 2018 China began to switch the powering of these systems from coal to natural gas which has contributed to a significant improvement in Shanghai air quality.)
Moreover, during late Autumn the trees that densely line Shanghai’s streets and avenues lose their leaves, making them no longer able to trap dust.
Another source of winter air pollution is the burning of straw left over from the harvest. Peasants in nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu province can often be seen burning huge amounts of straw in their fields during October to December.
The Shanghai Environmental Bureau acknowledged that approximately 10 percent of Shanghai air pollution was caused by straw burning. (The ban on such burning, although it has not completely eradicated the practice, has also contributed to improving Shanghai air quality.)
Health Effects of Poor Air Quality
The long-term health effects from poor Shanghai air quality are hard to measure. In 2012, however, the WHO classified air pollution to be a number one carcinogen, acknowledging air pollution’s serious health impact.
Reports in the local Chinese press and overseas media also revealed that pollution was affecting the quality of sperm at Shanghai’s sperm banks.
The impact of poor air quality on children’s health is also a serious issue. Children are more affected by poor air quality as they spend more time outdoors, participating in rigorous activities just as their lungs are developing.
For more information on the serious health effects of air pollution and how you can combat them please see our air pollution solutions article.