Hey Mono, you still breathing?

[Brazen]

Hong Kong pollution hits new high

Air pollution levels in Hong Kong have reached a record high, prompting government warnings to people to avoid going out.

The Environmental Protection Department said some Air Pollution Index readings were more than double the level at which people should stay indoors.

Some schools stopped children playing outside to safeguard their health.

The record levels follow severe sandstorms thousands of kilometres to the north around the Chinese capital.

Officials said the sandstorms had exacerbated Hong Kong's worsening smog problems.

A spokeswoman for Hong Kong's environmental agency said that the API - a ratio based on the concentration of pollutants in the air, including sulphur dioxide and lead - was at "record high levels".

People with heart or respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors at an API reading of more than 100; the public is advised to stay indoors at more than 200.

On Monday the API was 453 at one recording station with five other stations marking levels of above 400, the government said.

"As the sandstorm from northern China is moving southward with the northeast monsoon and is now affecting Hong Kong, the Air Pollution Index is expected to reach the 'very high' or 'severe' level," the government said in a statement.

"Hong Kong's air pollution is bad already, but this shows we're not dealing very well with the most severe weather situations. It is a very big alarm," Edwin Lau, director of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, told AFP.

The government has warned the public to avoid prolonged exposure to heavy traffic areas and to reduce physical exertion and outdoor activities.

Schools were told to cancel sporting activities; elderly people have sought emergency help for shortness of breath.

The Clean Air Network recently helped to launch a business lobby to urge more government action against pollution.

The BBC's correspondent in Hong Kong, Annemarie Evans, says there are are tens of thousands of factories across the border in southern China which adversely affect Hong Kong's air quality, but that roadside pollution remains a large part of the problem.

All that and no view from The Peak any more.

[Oexmelin]

Of course he is. The air might be polluted, but it is still free.

[DGuller]

They should build some aqueducts down there.

[Legbiter]

They should build some aqueducts down there.

Not enough hammers to do it quickly.

[viper37]

Of course he is. The air might be polluted, but it is still free.

However I don't understand how there could be pollution in Hong-Kong.
As Mono stated more than once, there aren't much cars in HK and we all know that the only cause of urban pollution is people driving Hummer and other SUVs all alone in the city...
*whistle*

[DGuller]

They should build some aqueducts down there.

Not enough hammers to do it quickly.

It's China, they can sacrifice some population.

[Syt]

Of course he is. The air might be polluted, but it is still free.

Until it becomes so thick and polluted that the government charges for it. "Baby chow", Made in Hong Kong.

[Pedrito]

Oddly enough, searching "Perri-air" in Google Images and selecting only large images, the search reveals an image of a foetal dancing skeleton   

L.

[Monoriu]

The pollution index hit 500 yesterday.  The reason it did not go beyond that point is because it is the highest point in the scales. 

[ulmont]

The pollution index hit 500 yesterday.  The reason it did not go beyond that point is because it is the highest point in the scales.

Yeah, that's always hilarious.  Here in Atlanta, the pollen scale maxes out at "Very High" at 120+.  Common March and April numbers: 600-1200.

[DGuller]

The pollution index hit 500 yesterday.  The reason it did not go beyond that point is because it is the highest point in the scales.

At least it's stabilizing.

[Monoriu]

My wife is suffering from an asthma attack.  My respiratory system also feels kinda funny. 

[Monoriu]

The pollution index actually uses standards that are less stringent than WHO ones.  If we do so, the index should go way up. 

[Monoriu]

Just great.  Took a lunch break, and now I have severe headache.  Panadol is not helping.  I am fulfilling my sacred patriotic duty of sacrificing my health and lifespan for the wonderful masses of Wal Mart shoppers. 

[Barrister]

Just great.  Took a lunch break, and now I have severe headache.  Panadol is not helping.  I am fulfilling my sacred patriotic duty of sacrificing my health and lifespan for the wonderful masses of Wal Mart shoppers.

Thanks.