Air pollution levels in Taiwan - grim reading

Failing that, buy air purifiers for your apartment. :slight_smile:
3M have a deal online, 1 ten ping and 1 six ping unit 8,800 ntd total.

Air now in Shanghai better than the air in Taiwan:

Shanghai, Jingan, 4pm, December 16 - Index 80
Taipei, Shilin (my location), 5pm, December 16 - Index 162

Brought my mask with filter from Shanghai, here in Taiwan since 13th, finally, air was quite good from Sunday, but not good yesterday and now. But China is worseā€¦ Shanghai last few days over 300, yesterday still 250+. So living now in Taiwan (not Shanghai anymore) is still better. When I moved to Shanghai 4 years ago we had once or twice this weather condition where dust and smog came with the wind from Mainland China. Hope this bad air situation is only temporarily.

[quote=ā€œSunnyboyInTaiwanā€]
Brought my mask with filter from Shanghai, here in Taiwan since 13th, finally, air was quite good from Sunday, but not good yesterday and now. But China is worseā€¦ Shanghai last few days over 300, yesterday still 250+. So living now in Taiwan (not Shanghai anymore) is still better. When I moved to Shanghai 4 years ago we had once or twice this weather condition where dust and smog came with the wind from Mainland China. Hope this bad air situation is only temporarily.[/quote]

I do believe (and hope!) itā€™s temporary. Someone told me itā€™s because when the temperature drops, the cold front brings the smog/pollution down to Taiwan. It shouldnā€™t last too longā€¦fingers crossed!

So that means no night walk for Bobby my doggie? He ainā€™t gonna be happy.

Do you guys remember the cat wearing a cat-sized mask during SARS?

[quote=ā€œIconā€]So that means no night walk for Bobby my doggie? He ainā€™t gonna be happy.

Do you guys remember the cat wearing a cat-sized mask during SARS?[/quote]

Consider a mask for your doggie?

Yangmingshan improved to an index of 95, tomorrow we are good again, Shanghai also good by now, well acceptable with 80 (Jingan).

Just went outside, a bit wind, some gusts, smelled quite fresh.

Levels are certainly better this morning, yesterday was the worst Iā€™ve seen in Hualien. But itā€™s still not good.

Grey and grim yesterday, better todayā€¦

New research published from NTU.

taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ ā€¦ 2003635628

[quote]Research by National Taiwan University (NTU) indicates that PM2.5 ā€” fine particulate matter measuring 25 micrometers in diameter or smaller ā€” might have been a factor in more than 6,000 deaths nationwide last year, with exposure to the pollutant linked to numerous diseases.
NTU epidemiology professor Lin Hsien-ho (ęž—å…ˆå’Œ) yesterday said that his research team analyzed pollution data and occurrence patterns of four chronic diseases ā€” coronary artery disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ā€” and estimated that 6,275 people with those diseases died last year after long-term exposure to PM2.5.
The research found a regional difference in the disease-causing contribution of PM2.5.
PM2.5 contributed to 22 percent of the deaths in Yunlin among people with the four diseases, 21.7 percent in Nantou, 21.6 percent in Kaohsiung, but only 8.7 percent in Hualien, as industrial and traffic emissions are most severe in the nationā€™s west, Lin said, adding that on a national average, PM2.5 is a factor in 19 percent of the deaths caused by the four diseases.[/quote]

There is this list of ā€œwhat you should doā€ being passed around on FB -usually by some doctor or medical institution. Wearing a mask is number one on the list, but few specify which kind is useful and which is not -or people skip that part.

Others include sensible advice such as to take public transportation to diminish the amount of pollution in the air, donā€™t exercise or over exert yourself outdoors, try not to burn stuff, fry stuff, smoke or such activities, pregnant,or elderly or children better not go out, etc. Others like eat pears and apples and such make me puzzled. Oh, and donā€™t leave the wash outdoors to dry.
[/quote]

Love the useless advice, as if smoking is a good idea anyway, and frying is going to contribute significantly to hazardous air pollution! Its like an article I read blaming air pollution on some dust settled on river banksā€¦ what? Yes public transport is a long term solution, but I read exposure is increased inside road vehicles because air vents are right down where they take in exhaust fumes from other vehicles. Is there no officially endorsed advice? No public awareness campaign?

Usually exposure is reduced In vehicles I believe, just recirculate the air in traffic. Worst exposure is to be a scooter rider or pedestrian on major roadway or intersection.

Dire today in north Taiwan: in the 150s all over northern Taiwan, and somewhat surprisingly less polluted in the Taichung area. Even Ilan is over 100. That map is currently showing Yangmingshan as ā€œjustā€ 42 - man the city must look ugly from up there, if youā€™re actually able to look down on the brown blanket.

Cold, I donā€™t really care. Rain ā€¦ annoying but meh. But the pollution this winter is awful.

Itā€™s weird, because with all this rain one would expect it to be way better.

Itā€™s bad in Taipei today. You can see it- the haze and an unnatural sky color.

I was planning a long ride along the bicycle paths on Friday but things look set to get even worse by then.

I think the problem is that in the winter, the rain and cold fronts often originate from China. Maybe my very amateur analysis is wrong, though.

[quote=ā€œmarasanā€]Itā€™s bad in Taipei today. You can see it- the haze and an unnatural sky color.

I was planning a long ride along the bicycle paths on Friday but things look set to get even worse by then.[/quote]
Yeah, unfortunately I was too busy the past few days to get out on my dust-coated bike, and had planned to get out today - but the pollution has kept me in. At least now (around 4pm) thereā€™s recognizably bluish sky up there, but itā€™s still ugly. And as you say, the pollution forecast gets worse over the next few days.

I guess thatā€™s the silver lining of the summer heat - the pollution isnā€™t usually as bad then.

I still donā€™t know when I should draw the line on going out. Today the AQI is around 100-110, ā€œUnhealthy for sensitive groupsā€: ā€œThe general public should greatly reduce outdoor exertion ā€¦ Everyone should take care to wear a pollution maskā€, says my app. I dunno, maybe itā€™d be fine to ride, but the brown cast to the sky is so depressing/aggravating.

Which app is that? Mine says ā€œmoderateā€ air pollution ā€¦ which looks OKish to me. :s

My iPhone calls it AirVisual - see here. Both that and the main site I check are giving me a current number of 102.

Itā€™s not exceptionally bad today, but itā€™s not good, and it was bad enough that I opted not to go out for exercise. But most of my exercise is swimming, with cycling as a bonus. If cycling were the only way I exercised Iā€™d probably have gone out anyway.

60/70 in Yilan, canā€™t complain too much!

It looks like the AQI is dipping under 100 in some places of Taipei now. Iā€™m trying to draw the line at around 100- anything higher and do something else or forego exercise altogether. So far, it hasnā€™t been any problem, but weā€™ll see what happens in the months to come. The problem with cycling is that youā€™re out there often for long periods and if you head to a mountain, youā€™re really inhaling deeply for those long periods. A quick 30-minute swim indoors is probably smarter when you get to ā€œunhealthyā€ levels of AQI.

My iPhone calls it AirVisual - see here. Both that and the main site I check are giving me a current number of 102.[/quote]

That site is very useful. :thumbsup: The nearest city to my hometown in Australia is currently 6. Looking forward to drinking some rainwater when I go back.