Record-level smog chokes Hong Kong
By Tan Ee Lyn
HONG KONG: Thick, choking smog enveloped Hong Kong for a second day on
Wednesday, and the government came under renewed pressure from
environmentalists and politicians to rein in the worsening air pollution
problem.
Air pollution in Central business district shot up to 174 on the air
pollution index by early afternoon, the highest ever recorded since
measurements began in 1995, a spokeswoman from the Environmental Protection
Department said.
Before dawn on Wednesday, almost all of Hong Kong was registering more than
100 on the index -- levels regarded as "very high" -- triggering warnings
from the government.
"When the general index lies between 101 and 200, persons with existing
heart or respiratory illnesses are advised to reduce physical exertion and
outdoor activities," the government said in a statement.
A Hospital Authority spokeswoman said it was not immediately known if the
deterioration in air quality since Tuesday had caused more visits to doctors
and hospitals.
SUNNY DAYS RARE IN HONG KONG
Sunny clear skies over Hong Kong have become rare in the last one year, but
Wednesday's haziness sets a new pollution record. This problem has invited
increasing criticism even from the business sector, which has now formed a
lobby group to press the government into faster and more effective action.
Hong Kong's worsening air pollution is usually blamed on its large fleets of
diesel-powered vehicles, such as taxis, trucks and light buses, and smog
from factories and power stations in other parts of southern China.
On what would otherwise have been a fine day in spring, Victoria Harbour was
smothered in thick smog and skyscrapers lining both sides of the famous
waterway were hardly discernible.
Wearing white surgical masks and carrying banners, about 12 activists from
Friends of the Earth took to streets in Central and Causeway Bay in protest,
urging the government to act.
They also passed pamphlets to taxi drivers and motorists, urging them not to
keep the engines of their idle cars running.
"We think this is intolerable. We urge the government to immediately
legislate against idling engines. We hope the police will come out and catch
these smoky vehicles instead of sitting in their offices and doing nothing,"
activist Plato Yip said.
PEOPLE PINCH NOSES, RUSH INDOORS
Pedestrians were seen pinching their noses or covering their mouths as they
hurried to get indoors. "It's very hazy, I can't even see the buildings
across the harbour. This is very terrible, as I already have lung problems,"
an elderly woman told television reporters.
One tourist, who has been in Hong Kong for five days, said: "Two days now
I've got sore throat, headaches, not very well."
Legislator Christine Loh said in a statement: "We don't want just less-bad
pollution. We demand real improvements."
Loh called for quick imports of diesel with lower sulphur content, and for
fines on smoky vehicles to be raised immediately to HK$5,000 (US$ 641) from
the paltry HK$450 currently.
A new arrival in Hong Kong, however, sunbathed near the harbour during lunch
hour. "I thought it was nice, it doesn't seem any worse than London," she
quipped.
Assistant Director of Environmental Protection C. W. Tse blamed the
alarmingly high pollution scores on the lack of wind.
"We have had zero wind speed for a long long period of time, the air is
stagnant, that causes pollution to be trapped," he told reporters at a
briefing. (Reuters)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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