Air Pollution in China

Air pollution is the composition of chemicals, oxygen, and air that has destructive effects. It is under looked continuously; we often assume we can escape it. This is not the case. Every year, the air quality that surrounds one becomes the fundamental foundation of diseases, deaths, infections, and economic problems.

China's air quality has reached a level of intensity where these problems are the predominant factor making up the country's economy. China is recognized as the largest residential holding country struggling with health defects due to the inadequate air quality that surrounds them on a day-to-day basis.

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Sources of China’s Air Pollution

Often, countries have difficulty trying to differentiate between promoting the general public's economic growth or raising costs for environmental welfare. China's air composition is mainly composed of coal, a cheap but incredibly polluting source of energy. China is highly dependent upon coal's energy, seen by how it was responsible for 44.1% of developed energy in 2017 and 2018. The way coal trails into the composition of air pollution are chiefly due to houses that rely upon solid fuels to cook and do household chores.

Other than coal, a few other components make up the composition of the air quality surrounding residents living in China. Electricity generation has historically become one of the leading contributing sources of air pollution, alongside coal. Electricity generation generates electrical power from primary energy sources, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Factors within electricity generation make up an estimate of 53.5 % of China's quality of air.

Aside from elements within electricity generation, vehicles are known to be the second-largest contribution to air pollution. In counting, China reached an estimated 310 million vehicles under its residents' possession in 2017. Vehicle exhaustion adds to air pollution, letting out harmful gaseous chemicals into the air. According to China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, vehicles make up about 43% of Beijing's air pollution and almost 30 % of Shanghai's air pollution.

Although specific pollutants may cause air contamination, some pollutions also vary upon weather patterns and topography. For example, air pollution in Beijing may have a mild effect on its population. Due to specific weather patterns, air pollution may travel to Shanghai and have a more abrupt effect on its population. This shows that even though that specific country or city may not be using an excessive amount of pollutants, it may still experience that effect because of neighboring countries and cities.

How pollution can harm our lungs.

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The Covid-19 effect

COVID-19 is more deadly within areas that have severe air pollution. According to a study done at Harvard University, the toxic air can result in chemically ill residents, yet at the same time, their risk for the pandemic increases drastically. Air pollution is a composition of solid fuels and gas particles. When one breathes in the toxins, it harms the respiratory tract leading to difficulty breathing. Alongside harming one's respiratory tract, air pollution also causes inflammation throughout the body has been linked to higher rates of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and asthma. All of these conditions also result in an increased risk of death in COVID-19 patients.

It is imperative to determine what pollution factors will harm the human body's mechanisms, thus helping lead a pathway in which we can find ways for our bodies to be immune to the dangers of air pollution and help us understand the ongoing pandemic adequately.

How can you help?

Residents of China have stopped its iron and steel making capacity and shut down all coal mines. The government has also made an effort to reduce air pollution by introducing many reforestation programs, planting more than 350 billion trees. Beijing also has its Action Plan, where they have built-in economic analysis systems keeping track of what pollutants are making up the toxic air.

As a more significant public, we can help China by using clean, renewable energy such as solar and wind to be an effective solution to air pollution caused by fossil fuel. In efforts to help resolve pollution and clean air to make a comeback, the World Band often lends loans to China to support the action plan. The general population can make donations, as a charity, to the world bank so that the world bank can take that money and put it into funding for the ongoing action plans.

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Resources

• Helping China Fight Air Pollution. www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/06/11/helping-china-fight-air-pollution.

• “U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Chinese Coal-Fired Electricity Generation Expected to Flatten as Mix Shifts to Renewables - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=33092.

• “China Air Pollution Falls 10.8% Because of Coronavirus Slowdown.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 14 Aug. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution/china-air-pollution-falls-10-8-because-of-coronavirus-slowdown-idUSKCN25A16Q.

• Costello, Author Paul, et al. “Why Air Pollution Is Linked to Severe Cases of COVID-19.” Scope, Logo Left ContentLogo Right Content 10,000+ Posts Scope Stanford University School of Medicine Blog, 22 July 2020, scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/07/17/why-air-pollution-is-linked-to-severe-cases-of-covid-19/.

• “Is Air Quality in China a Social Problem?” ChinaPower Project, 26 Aug. 2020, chinapower.csis.org/air-quality/.