It is at various times . But often it’s mostly local pollution. It builds up over days and weeks when no rain.
Actually there’s constant pollution in Taiwan step onto any busy road.
You are probably the only person who ever noticed that. Mist locals are extremely ignorant as to the extent of their water pollution (and the disgusting habit of fishing at sewers). Though people older than 50 years old often reminisce about catching shrimp and fish in the rivers , even in Taipei city . But those people also are the same generation that destroyed them…Ironically.
I saw yesterday in the river of Taipei like more 50 fish all together where is a city drain, I don’t if trying to breath or eating the shit.
Eating the shit and oxygen together. Then you get the herons who like to hang out there to eat the shit eating fish. It’s a virtuous circle.
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Guess herons and people have more in common than we thought.
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This is Christmas in Kaohsiung…i have no words. That is the “iconic” 85f building in kaohsiung for those not familiar. All the details of the building cannot be seen. Even the windows. Taken from about 1.5km away. “Sunny” day…
Tainan, koahsiung and pingdong was all terrible like this during christmas. It is interesting listenin to deniers…but one wonders if such morons should be alowed to reproduce.
The same day driving east but raining (cloudier). Ignore the planta, mountain clarity is the point. About 8km away. Note details that can be seen…
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I doubt London looks like that everyday .
Kaohsiung pretty much looks like that all the time. And not only Kaohsiung but all of the South up to Taichung.
When I’ve checked the PM2.5 levels before there’s a big difference between Kaohsiung and London .
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Right now, 85 building in the distance (3-4km), clear now. Okinawa has low numbers “16” Air Pollution in Taiwan: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map . KHH where I am has 75.
Now…
Kaohsiung 139 PM2.5
London 38 PM2.5
Ozone 3x London.
I bet you its a similar story all year. Oh yeah and the British always say London is too polluted it is damaging the kids IQ and killing people.
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Stop lying.
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That’s not true. I live here. Yes, pollution is bad, but only a handful of days look that bad each year. Plenty of nice blue sky days too. We get it on the chin enough when it comes to pollution. No need to pile on and make it sound even worse than it is. We’re not China. Yet.
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That photo wasn’t that bad though. That’s a normal hazy day isn’t it ?
It was the same or worse when I was there just a couple of months ago! Every time I’ve been to Kaohsiung and Pingdong over the last four years it’s been hazy. Every time. Maybe I’m unlucky you are saying ?
PM2.5 numbers say it was bad in Kaohsiung today.
I have kept a keen eye on the pollution here.
Visually, I find it is rare to see that level of smog at street level. However, once you go up higher (in my case 20F+) and look in the distance, every day that it hasn’t rained since October (or the 2-3 days following), looks like that, and worse.
I think that’s the discrepancy, people saying it doesn’t look bad are looking from only a few floors up or ground level. Even those pictures somebody posted of the other cities fail to take into account they are from some high angle.
When you’re on the ground, you’re in it. It’s harder to see, and you can’t see that far anyway. But when you look out every day and most of the time you can’t even see a mountain you know is there (which is somewhat visible up until 2-3 days after a rain) - and actually, the harbor too in my case - the problem, even visually, is undeniable.
The air and water quality in south tw cities is awful. My son has mild tourette’s syndrome and had brutal skin eczema as a kid growing up there, and they both go away on the east coast and in the states. My apt in tainan was had a view of the mountains only visible clearly after rainstorms. Sometimes not visible at all from not far away.
I also want to add that it’s not just about the visible pollution.
Not in the sense of the numbers, which are undeniable, but how when you go outside you can literally smell, and often times taste, the difference in the air from inside to outside.
I would suspect again that maybe if you live on lower floors or have lots of air leaks then you wouldn’t notice much of a difference, but the difference “at height” for all these factors is disturbing.
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Most of the 10 days I have back in December have been like this, better than Berlin and Paris (Cold and rain). I was also in San Diego which I think has best weather in the world. (Not very warm or cold 15-20c, rare to hit 30c in the summer 20-30 in summer)
The air quality can be bad but if you look up straight the sky will often be blue. It’s only on severe days when the sky is completely orange.
I like the south a lot, but let’s not be delusional guys.
It’s not clear blue though it’s milky blue.
That milkiness is caused by the PM2.5 particles diffracting the light.
A lot of people in Taiwan don’t understand that the sky should be a clear blue .
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