Clear Days on the Horizon (Ep.2)

Initial broadcast - 8:00 pm Friday July 24, 2015

To listen to the show's initial broadcast, please visit here and click on the headphone icon.

To listen to the show after the initial broadcast, please visit the archive here.

Update: Please read the Ming Pao news article about our air pollution episode.

Each of us takes over 20,000 breaths a day. This episode looks at what we're taking into our bodies in Hong Kong. Dr. Misha Schurman-Boehm, an atmospheric chemist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, talks with us about what's in our air, where it comes from, and where it goes. We have severe air pollution problems in Hong Kong, but that doesn't mean that we can't have clear days on the horizon.

If you want to know the relative quality of Hong Kong's air, you can check our current and past-two-day average pollution levels. At that site you can also access data from some individual Hong Kong monitoring stations to see the air quality near your home. Interestingly, Misha noted that if you are at street level, the actual amount of pollution you can be breathing in ("roadside pollution") can be 10x the amount that's being recorded at monitoring stations. If you want to find data from all individual stations visit the EPD network. However, Misha mentioned that shipping is a big cause of air pollution, but there aren't stations near the areas of heavy ship traffic in Hong Kong!

When you look at Hong Kong's air data, it's hard to believe that World Health Organization (WHO) air pollution guidelines recommend that daily mean PM_2.5 values not exceed 25.  Misha said that most days out of the year break that standard, and she mentions how it's actually not even a very high standard. WHO guidelines and a wealth of other air quality information are here.  

How to get out? 

Misha noted how it can be very meaningful to get out and experience nature and the outdoors. We couldn't agree more, considering how spectacular Hong Kong's outdoors are. So, if it's a clear day and you want to get out into the air to enjoy nature, there are a number of organizations that can help you do that through walking, hiking, trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, all the way up to rock climbing and beyond!  

The WWF has a centre at the Mai Po wetlands in the New Territories, and they offer a varity of tours depending on the season (Price around $120/person). The Hong Kong Tourism Board organizes nature tours as well in areas all around Hong Kong (Price $300-$800 depending on tour; many of these tours are organized by Walk Hong Kong). To save money, you can just join many of the free events through various outdoor organizations on Meetup.com. For example, the Hong Kong Hiking Meetup have organized hikes every day for all levels (sometimes even multiple ones!), or the Microadventures Hong Kong group goes out cycling and exploring. There's also several organizations which put together all kinds of outdoor activities for youth in Hong Kong, including Asia Pacific Adventure and Outdoor Education Asia.

In Ep. 8 "Hiking Hong Kong" we'll sit down with hiking organizers and learn much more about outdoor activities and Hong Kong's country parks! Please stay tuned. :)

Educational Resources

Chinese Summary - coming soon

English Summary - For educational purposes, please just send us an email and we'll send it to you!

Cantonese-English Key Terms:

air pollution -  空氣污染

atmospheric chemist -​ 大氣化學家
gaseous species - 氣體種類​

particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)​ - 顆粒物質

volatile organic carbons (VOC) - ​ 揮發性有機化合物

heavy metals -​ 重金屬

microns (millionths of a meter)​ - ​微米

alveoli -​ 肺泡

street canyon effect -​ ​大廈林立街道「峽谷」作用

monitoring station - ​監測站​

reactants -​​ 反應劑

secondary air pollution​ - 二次空氣污染

acidification - ​ 酸化

carcinogenic - 致癌的

regulate - 調節

paradigm shift -​ 典範轉移​

sustainable infrastructure ​- 可持續設施

Credits 

Special thank you to:

Dr. Misha Schurman-Boehm - Post Doctoral Researcher, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Kathryn Davies - Host, Producer

Inga Conti-Jerpe - Host

Dante Archangeli - Co-producer

Fei Hung - Research
Chris Tam - Sound engineer
Music by Kodomo (Orange Ocean - Loscil Remix)

Where do you go to find clean air in Hong Kong? Please share!