In an interview with the Chinese Economic Weekly, Kan Haidong, a professor of Fudan University and the only Chinese academic to have contributed to the World Health Organisation's Global Burden of Disease research also said that the scientific jury is still out on the hourly readings published by the US Embassy in Beijing. more ›

A new study released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland claims that India now has the worst air pollution in the world, besting traditional crazybad air champion China, as well as Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. more ›

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The Shanghai Ministry of Environmental Protection has released some information our allergies had long ago alerted us to: the air quality of the city for the last half year has been absolute crap. Still, amongst the 113 cities being monitored in China, we're actually not too bad off - we're at the "second level," which means "within standards" in the three-level system. None of the cities made it to level one (the cleanest). Beijing, of course, has air so crazybad it's in level three.
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After 10 months of exposure behavioural tests were carried out on the rodents including a learning and memory test where after five days of training they were placed on a brightly lit area and given two minutes to find the dark escape hole where they would be more comfortable. more ›

Thanks, you jerks! Anybody who stayed in Shanghai over May holiday probably noticed the disgusting amount of crap in the air. I know my sinuses definitely did. Turns out it's all the North's fault: sandstorms blown in from the region not only gave half of us the worst seasonal allergies ever, it also set air pollution records! more ›

A recent study of Mexico City's air pollution found that, because of all the gross stuff in the air, 55 middle class children there were developing brain lesions like those found in patients with dementia. Considering the well documented decline in air quality since Expo ended, what does this study mean for us here in Shanghai? more ›

Like the impending smog that thickens by the week, a list that has recently been released comes as an unwelcome reminder of the decreasing air quality in China. Three cities and one special administrative region have made it on to this list, specifically Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. more ›

It's time to stock up masks and inhalers because, no, that's not fog you're breathing. According to the China Daily, the air pollution index has passed 100 for eight days so far this month, the worst readings in five years. Another chilling statistic: the API reading on the 13th of November, when the numbers jumped to 370. Considering that the key to reading the API only goes up to Class III, where numbers 200 and above only account for “worse than Class III”, we're thinking that's there's some horrific stuff floating around in the “air”. more ›

Everyone probably noticed that on November 1, 2010, the skies hazed up almost immediately. In case anybody was wondering if it was just a weather fluke, here's proof it wasn't: The day after Expo ended, the amount of particulate matter in Shanghai's air more than doubled from the day before (more than tripling the amount from October 30, even). In fact, it was the third-worst day of 2010 (there were two days in March that were even more terrible). more ›

@Chijs: "The Shanghai Expo is over and immediately the air pollution is worse than any day during the past 6 months." more ›

• We were slightly surprised that, despite satellite photos, Shanghais air quality has apparently become slightly more breathable thanks to the Expo. Their secret? Agricultural lessons!
• It’s not just a bad time for commuters this Golden Holiday; at least 80 gay men were picked up by Beijing police after a raid on a ‘gay park’. It’s probably not worth complaining too loudly though, especially with the threat of ‘black jails’.
• Gates and Buffett have had their pro-philanthropist dinner, as have some others with a slightly more ‘normal’ bank balance.

While China's air may seem pretty terrible from satellite photos, apparently Shanghai has become a little more breathable thanks to the Expo. Says Shanghai Daily, "A total of 121 days, or 98.4 percent of the days between May and August, were marked as having excellent or good air quality." How did they manage it? By putting controls on "hay burning" - reducing the amount of land allowed to grow wheat and teaching farmers other ways to get rid of hay. Who would've thought? more ›

Well, okay, technically it is still air, but it's also a helluva lot of particulate matter. Canadian researchers Aaron van Donkelaar and Randall Martin at Dalhousie University compiled the first long-term map of PM2.5, fine particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. And China, unfortunately, has some of the most of it in the world. more ›

Alas, we apparently weren't rich enough to get on the guest list for China's first "Private and Business Jet Expo" ever, held over the weekend in Hongqiao airport, since we just found out about it now. People who could schmooze their ways in were treated to private jet aircrafts displays, demonstration flights and exhibition pavilions, as well as some measure of controversy. It seems that private jets have yet to be added to the list of Chinese goods under the "luxury tax," turning private aviation pollution "into a legal vacuum where no related department is involved in" - an especially sensitive issue considering both the rising wealth gap and China's growing environmental concerns. more ›

We are all familiar with the imposing skyline of Shanghai, it's been voted the 4th best in the world. But us residents are even more familiar with the thick smog that clings to the buildings, producing ghostly silhouettes. Despite previous reports that the smog levels in China were receding, the authorities have now reaffirmed that China’s air quality is worsening. more ›

One stereotype that's probably true about foreigners in China is that they're very complainy. But did you know Shanghai was actually studying their complainy-ness? A Shanghai Committee has found that the thing foreigners in Shanghai love to complain about the most is air quality. Said the survey, "Foreigners said flying dirt from construction sites is an important cause tarnishing local air quality and they long for a better and clearer sky after the event opens." Air quality even beat out other nuisances, like trash, lack of bilingual service, and internet speed. So the next time you're whining about your post nasal drip, you can know: your peers are doing the same exact thing! more ›

We knew we noticed more blue skies this year. Apparently a total of 334 days (91.5%) in Shanghai registered as having excellent or good air quality - the highest percentage since records began to be taken. Yes! We already found out we were better than Beijing, but it's nice to beat our own personal record. But what about all those "foggy" days? Well, perhaps a lot of it was just water vapor... or maybe small particulate matter, since China doesn't actually measure those even though they're more harmful. Eh. more ›

We like to joke about Shanghai's fog/smog, especially on days like Monday, where it was so thick you felt like it was choking you. But one intrepid Shanghaiist reader, curious about whether Shanghai weather is really that bad, especially after bearing the brunt of endless jokes about how polluted the city is from his friends in Stockholm. more ›

Heavy polluting, high-emission vehicles - those that can't meet China's lowest level of National Emission Standards - are now banned from downtown Shanghai in an effort to create better air quality in time for the Expo. There are about 200,000 of these cars and trucks in the city and they generate about 50% of all vehicular emissions while accounting for only 14% the total of local vehicles. Violators will be fined 200RMB and lose two points off their license. The city started banning high-emission cars from the Inner Ring Road area in 2006. The new ban extends to the Middle Ring Road - including lanes on the Yan'an, North-South and Humin highways. more ›

The idea of Mask Week (11/17/2007-11/24/2007) got us thinking about the air we breathe in Shanghai. We know it's bad for us, we can see the haze nearly every day, but just how bad is it. So we got on the web and found the historical records for Shanghai air quality provided by the Shanghai Environment Education Centre, you can also go here to find records for 84 Chinese cities. Since the beginning of the... more ›