Air pollution has long been a big issue in Hong Kong. The government did modify the air quality but, sadly, it still deteriorates continually. Even worse, the Air Pollution Index recently hit a record high, which suggests that the air quality in Hong Kong is far lower than the international standard. I would really like to take this opportunity to discuss the problem and to express my own thoughts about it. Let's begin with the cause of the problems, which includes three main aspects.
The first aspect concerns the vehicle emissions. With the increasing number of private cars and the slow introduction of environmentally-friendly fuels, the amount of air pollutants released by vehicles keeps increasing, thereby tarnishing the air quality.
Secondly, the unplanned use of land can also account for the problems. All the buildings therefore form a physical barrier to block the ventilation of air. Consequently, pollutants like suspended particles are trapped in air, causing the air to be polluted.
Cross-border pollution is the third aspect. There are currently numerous factories built in Mainland in Guangdong Province. The industrial air pollutants can be carried to Hong Kong by winds. Especially in winter, when much pollution is brought by the northern monsoon, the air quality is exceptionally terrible. To tackle the problem, we should focus on the causes and design solutions accordingly.
To deal with the first cause, which is related to traffic, the amount of vehicle emissions should be controlled properly. Actually, this has been implemented before, for example, the installation of catalytic converters and introduction of unleaded fuels. However, the even worse air quality nowadays has proved these traditional means not enough. In addition to these, the government should pay more efforts in controlling the number of private cars on the road. Raising the registration fee of the newly purchased vehicles and levying heavier tax on vehicle ownership are really effective measures to minimize the number of private vehicles, thereby reducing emission of pollutants. Introduction of electronic cars or hybrid cars also reduce the release of air pollutants by vehicles. Apart from just introducing these cars, the government should also subsidies the installation of corresponding stations. Then, the emission will definitely be lowered gradually.
Secondly, to achieve a better land use planning, new measures and laws should be set up for the developers and architects to refer to. For example, in order that the new buildings are surrounded with good ventilation, density and height of buildings should be reasonably limited and be stated in black and white as laws. Besides, in order to keep the air fresh with low suspended particles content, a certain percentage should be set as the proportion of green areas in the urban. Good road planning and design can also be achieved with clear regulations and rules. And, without strict enforcement, all the aforementioned laws are just meaningless. This explains why keen and frequent inspection and execution by the government is always needed to match with an ideal city planning.
Hong Kong has improved its air quality by using roadside sensors to detect vehicles with the dirtiest fumes and forcing owners to get them fixed.
Vehicles that run on petrol and diesel emit harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. New cars have technology for reducing these emissions, but they can become more polluting over time. Many older cars that are still on the roads are heavy emitters. To identify the worst-offending vehicles, Hong Kong installed sensors on highway ramps that use infrared and ultraviolet beams to detect carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon levels in tailpipe exhausts of passing vehicles. Owners must repair their vehicles and pass an emissions test, paid for themselves, before their vehicles are allowed back on the road.
Hong Kong's air pollution is mainly contributed by motor vehicles, marine vessels and power plants. The two greatest challenges are local street-level pollution and regional smog. Smog is caused by a combination of pollutants mainly from motor vehicles, industry and power plants in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta
Since the enforcement program began in September 2014, more than 16,000 high-emissions vehicles have been detected and 96 per cent have been fixed and passed the compulsory emissions test, according to an analysis led by Yuan Huang at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. The scheme has rapidly improved air quality in Hong Kong. In 2015, independent monitoring found that average concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides at roadside locations had dropped by 26 and 27 per cent respectively compared to 2012 levels.
Figures from a separate monitoring program, the Hong Kong Air Pollutant Emission Inventory, also show that carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport declined, by 50 and 34 per cent respectively, between 2012 and 2015.
Several European countries are experimenting with using roadside sensors to monitor vehicle pollution, but Hong Kong is the first to use them for enforcement purposes, says Huang.
He believes the technology should be adopted in other countries since it is relatively low cost and offers a quick and straightforward way to clean up the air.
The mortality rate from vehicular pollution can be twice as high near heavily travelled roads, based on a study conducted in the Netherlands at residences 50 meters from a main road and 100 meters from a freeway.
Five years ago, air quality wasn't a concern when people considered whether to relocate to Hong Kong. "In the past, one of the advantages was clean air. We can no longer say that". A London-based human resources consultant recommends that companies pay a 10 per cent hardship allowance to lure expatriates, partly because of air quality.
He believes the technology should be adopted in other countries since it is relatively low cost and offers a quick and straightforward way to clean up the air. “I think it’s an especially good idea in big cities like Beijing, which have serious air pollution problems from transport,” he says.
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