Air pollution in Hong Kong has turned worse last year as the city went through economic revival amid a mostly stable Covid situation and lenient social distancing measures, a green group has found. But the worsened air pollution last year was estimated to have led to 1,329 premature deaths and a total economic loss of HK$15.8 billion, Clean Air Network found after analyzing the air quality data released by the Environmental Protection Department. Among them, the level of nitrogen dioxide last year was 37 milligrams per square meter of air, 12 percent more than 33 milligram per square meter of air in 2020. The third major pollutant is respirable suspended particulates, which general reading was 28 milligrams per square meter, comparing with 26 in 2020. “In 2021, as those measures were relaxed, the level of air pollution bounced back, though yet to reach that in 2019 before the pandemic.

Source: The Standard January 17, 2022 20:58 UTC