Pollution in Beijing - Any experience?

[Lumbering Ox]

With good reason I don't trust the organic label in Canada let alone China, and getting organic doesn't really help much when industry contaminates the soil.

 

Also clear blue skys suggest better air but I am pretty sure it doesn't guarantee it. There seems to be more blue sky in Beijing then there are acceptable PM2.5 days.

 

As for Yinchuan, according to aqicn the PM2.5 is at 422 and the PM10 is at 999. Granted for most of the past two days it has been in the orange and red levels not off the charts purple.

This doesn't seem to be a recent thing.

http://beijingcream.com/2014/03/compare-pollution-across-china-with-real-time-aqi-map/ from 2014

Maybe it's more dust but still, PM2.5 health effects don't discriminate between natural and man made.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2014-03/17/c_133192245.htm

 

Although average numbers of PM2.5 in 2013 suggest it isn't as bad as other places, just not good.

43.7 average and 164 max

http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/blog/bad-to-worse-ranking-74-chinese-cities-by-air/blog/48181/

 

Considering local standards are 35 and WHO standards are 10, I would call it polluted, just not by Chinese standards.

[Huina]

@ChTTay, dude I am so sorry, my computter wigged out and downvoted one of your posts! I just feel bad leaving it like that so I left a comment.

[ChTTay]

I'm sad.

[Lumbering Ox]

I doubt anyone cares much but I gave you an upvote.

 

I feel like a hero now.

[BLCU_Simon]

I spent one full academic year in Beijijng, 2014/2015. And I can tell you that it is as bad as it sounds.

You will not die (least no immediately) from it, but in the short term you will suffer:

• dry nose or rhinitis (with the occasional blood clots/crusts)
• dry skin (bring plenty of hydrating cremes and lotions)
• dry throat
• waking up in the morning with one or all of the previous conditions

A few personal recommendations/opinions:

• always wear a facemask outside, and buy a cheap fan filter for your room that has to run constantly day and night (200RMB on taobao + 80 Rmb for filters). It will really make a difference on the quality of your sleep.
• You CANNOT do outdoor activity on days with pollution at 300. Heck, you should not even do that when it is at 200. I mean, you can if you want, but you are going to pay it. Try spending one hour talking to a friend down in the street with no mask, and by the time you come back home you will feel your lungs and your throat dry and sore.  Sport activity is even worse as it is going maximize your PM intake - goodbye lungs.
• For an expat living in Beijing, a day with PM 2.5 at 130 is a tolerably good day. After a while you'll bother with the mask only when pollution is above 150.

I was personally lucky in BJ since due to many official events (OPEC meeting, national day, etc.) the pollution sources were switched off and we enjoyed at least 20+ days of blue skies in the span of 9 months. But I also remember many weekends with 400+ pollution, and even half a dozen times with pollution way above that mark. 

 

When pollution is above 300, you wake up with the smell of burning coal in your bedroom. Personally, pollution is what prevents me from going back to BJ - otherwise I would happily go there to spend another year. 

[ChTTay]

One thing to note is that the pollution is not necessarily the main factor that leads to dry skin, dry throat, dry sinuses etc. Beijing has an arid, dry climate. Even on a stretch of great weather, you'll still have these symptoms. It's pretty straight forward to combat these and it's not that much of a big deal for most people.

Especially in winter, you would certainly need a good moisterizer (for body and face) and you need to actually use it daily. For the sinuses, again I find it's mostly in winter that it's an issue, the best thing is to adopt the Chinese habit of drinking hot water all the time. The stream really helps. If you have sinus problems (which I do sometimes), I find a sinus rinse and use steam the most helpful. The hot water is also helpful for the throat. I use my voice all day and don't really have problems. A lot of locals have humidifiers to help with the dryness, a few of my friends also.

Of course, pollution can exacerbate any problems you might have. Especially with your sinuses and throat.

I've never noticed a smell of burning coal on bad pollution days and I've been here for 5 years. Perhaps the above poster lived next to a coal burning power plant?

I would also recommend investing a bit more and buying Xiaomi air purifiers. The smaller ones cost 700rmb. Having a range of difference fan speeds, an auto and sleep function and, most importantly for me, the ability to turn them on using an APP when you're out of the house, make these worth the investment. I never liked the DIY fans, too noisy. Masks can be good, particularly 3M ones.

[BLCU_Simon]

I was living in Wudaokou. The smell of burned coal comes from outside. I used to suffer from rhinitis even in my university city in Italy, on days when pollution went above 130 (yes we have that in Italy too).

 

The cough and sore throat are shared symptoms among all the foreigners (edit: I mean all the foreigners I met in my school) who experienced BJ pollution for the first time. All of my classmates had the same problems.

 

According to my experience, the feeling of itchy and burning eyeballs only started at 350+.

 

With all due respect, I think that after 5 years of BJ you got used to it. As I admittedly stopped using a mask when pollution was "just" 130, because I also got used to it too.

 

If you take a vacation in a clean-air country (just take a short trip to Thailand, that should be enough) when you land back in high pollution it hits your nose like a truck.

 

I would like to point out that it is not unberable, you can still survive like millions of chinese do. But it is guaranteed to make your quality of life generally worse. 

[ChTTay]

"All foreigners who experience Beijing pollution" that's a somewhat wild claim! I know some foreigners you don't know, they didn't have these symptoms!

I lived in Wudaokou for 3 years. Never noticed a coal smell or had it come up in conversation.

I have taken multiple holidays over a 5 year period. Nose still in good shape after multiple re-entries!

[Angelina]

One thing to note is that the pollution is not necessarily the main factor that leads to dry skin, dry throat, dry sinuses etc. Beijing has an arid, dry climate. Even on a stretch of great weather, you'll still have these symptoms. It's pretty straight forward to combat these and it's not that much of a big deal for most people.

Exactly. Sandstorms, anyone?

[Flickserve]

It's a big deal now with CNN doing an article on it.

[BLCU_Simon]

It's a big deal only for those who discover it now...it's been there for years. 

 

I did not mean to generalize to all foreigners. But most of my classmates were suffering from cough and dry throat. surely Beijing very dry weather and frequent sandstorms do not help. But sandstorms did not happen frequently, certainly not across the whole year. 

 

Also, sandstorms could be noticed immediately because the air literally changes color (due to the diffraction I suppose) and becomes all shades of yellow and even pink! Kind of beautiful and makes it feel like an Independence Day Scenario...

 

anyway, this is what it looks like with good weather:

this is the same scenario on a polluted day (yes that's BLCU campus down there):

 

some AQI screenshots from 2014 (you can see the chinese carrier in the screenshot, which proofs I was actually there):

 

12 october

15 october

16 october

18 october

24 october

 

Notice the HISTORY of the last screenshot: you can notice how pollution can rise steadily and keep up at high level for days.

 

Just to make my point: I am not badmouthing the country or the city. It is just right to show people how things actually are. I heard many people bringing up the "average" pollution level...but I honestly think it is just a way to minimize the importance of the problem. Nobody expects clear sky 365/year, that is utopia. But there is a HUGE difference between a 100 pollution day and a 300 pollution day...

 

This is what it COULD be like:

26 october

 

This is what it is like on most days during winter:

yes that is the sun. 

 

Mask tax: new mask and old mask (changed after a couple weeks usage):

[imron]

that is utopia

You are welcome to visit Australia whenever you like

[BLCU_Simon]

22 hours ago, imron said:

You are welcome to visit Australia whenever you like

I hope I can soon enough!

And you are welcome to visit the Alps ;-) 

[Lwd]

Hi all, thanks for the insightful posts. I still have two questions; hopefully somebody can provide some insight.

 

First, why are people still going to Beijing if the pollution is that bad? The fact that there are still, for example, many foreign students going to Beijing, makes me think that in practice it isn't as bad as I believe based on the media and the posts in this topic.

 

And secondly, does anybody by chance know how bad a day in Beijing is in terms of smoked cigarettes? Or is that comparing apples with oranges.

[realmayo]

Maybe the comparison between moving to Beijing and smoking is a good one: people tend to start when they're young and feel immortal, the first time they tried it it tasted foul and they coughed loads but they persevered and quickly found they now feel good and look cool doing it, & aren't yet prepared to worry too much about the long-term, hoping that the filters will remove most of the worst of bad stuff... and when people eventually do start to worry, they find it's harder to quit than they'd thought. Often it's having children that finally makes up their mind though. 

[艾墨本]

8 hours ago, Lwd said:

Hi all, thanks for the insightful posts. I still have two questions; hopefully somebody can provide some insight.

 

First, why are people still going to Beijing if the pollution is that bad? The fact that there are still, for example, many foreign students going to Beijing, makes me think that in practice it isn't as bad as I believe based on the media and the posts in this topic.

 

And secondly, does anybody by chance know how bad a day in Beijing is in terms of smoked cigarettes? Or is that comparing apples with oranges.

 

 

I'm still going to Beijing to study Chinese because there are many great programs there. I will be wearing a face mask whenever possible, I will be buying a Xiaomi air purifier for my room, and I won't be doing heavy exercise outdoors (I will mostly do yoga and weights in my room, if possible). So why do people still go? Because we all must weigh pros and cons. The pros of staying in Beijing for a year outweigh the cons. But I will not do a masters degree in Beijing and, instead, opt to go to a different city or even Taiwan because three years of the pollution is too much for me, psychologically (have you gone months without seeing blue skies or sunsets or even feel the direct touch from the sun's rays?). 

 

I can't compare it to cigarettes, because I've seen conflicting studies on how the comparison works (some saying it'd be a fraction of one cigarette and others saying it'd be a whole pack), but I can cite an article from the Guardian:

 

Quote

The study, originally published in the journal Preventive Medicine before the World Health Organization’s latest global estimates, modelled the health effects of active travel and of air pollution. They measured air quality through average annual levels of PM2.5s, the tiny pollutant particles that can embed themselves deep in the lungs. This type of air pollution can occur naturally – from dust storms or forest fires, for example – but is mainly created by motor vehicles and manufacturing.

1

 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/13/tipping-point-cities-exercise-more-harm-than-good

 

Another key quote:

 

Quote

 

In cities such as Allahabad in India, or Zabol in Iran, the long-term damage from inhaling fine particulates could outweigh the usual health gains of cycling after just 30 minutes. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this tipping point happens after just 45 minutes a day cycling along busy roads. In Delhi or the Chinese city of Xingtai, meanwhile, residents pass what the researchers call the “breakeven point” after an hour. Other exercise with the same intensity as cycling – such as slow jogging – would have the same effect.

 

 

[Lu]

On 19-4-2017 at 5:09 AM, Lwd said:

First, why are people still going to Beijing if the pollution is that bad? The fact that there are still, for example, many foreign students going to Beijing, makes me think that in practice it isn't as bad as I believe based on the media and the posts in this topic.

Because there is more to Beijing than the pollution. It has good language programs, a lot of things going on culturally, all kinds of interesting opportunities, cool people... You weigh all the pros and cons, and when you're there you get used to it and take it in stride.

 

Compare it with some other countries: why do people still move to places with devastating earthquakes/shitty public health care/a racist or sexist environment? Because those places have other things going for them that make it worthwhile to go there and just take it in stride.

[mouse]

On 18/04/2017 at 10:09 PM, Lwd said:

First, why are people still going to Beijing if the pollution is that bad? The fact that there are still, for example, many foreign students going to Beijing, makes me think that in practice it isn't as bad as I believe based on the media and the posts in this topic.

 

 

Along with what everyone else has said, it's also worth remembering that the pollution isn't always bad every single day (although there are some particularly bad periods).

[ChTTay]

The AirVisual pollution App is good to put Beijings pollution in a Global context. I added my home city, London and New York. London is often 100+ When I've looked. 

[zander1]

My AQI reader just says Beijing has hit over 900 today. Honestly cannot see anything from my window.