Hong Kong's Air Pollution Crisis

Hong Kong’s air pollution has been a problem that has loomed over Hong Kong for several years. For over 30% of 2022, the visibility in Hong Kong was kept under 8 kilometres. Two main factors are affecting this; traffic congestion and energy consumption, contributing to the street-level pollution and regional smog. 

Traffic congestion is the second largest greenhouse gas emission source in Hong Kong. It is estimated that there are 275 vehicles per kilometre in Hong Kong, possibly having the highest density of vehicles in the world (IQAir, 2023). Moreover, the energy that is generated from coal-fired power stations makes up 50% of the energy we use in Hong Kong. These stations become subject to the highest production of carbon emissions, making the generation of power the cause of 67% of carbon emissions (Chung, n.d.).

Poor air pollution can have a number of negative effects on the population, the most extreme being health risks. The poor air pollution in Hong Kong has caused around 3,000 premature deaths. Long exposure to polluted air can increase the risk of cardiovascular illnesses and respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, emphysema and even lung cancer. Thus, the Hong Kong government is planning to put in measures to decrease this risk by tackling the two factors causing this air pollution (IQAir, 2023).

The government has inputted some solutions to try to improve air pollution in Hong Kong. For example, the government introduced the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) towards the end of 2013 because it provides the public with information on health risks associated with a certain pollution level, exceeding its predecessor in efficiency (Environmental Protection Department, 2013). The AQHI has a scale from 1 to 10, with an additional 10+ for very serious situations, and these fall into 5 health risk categories. Schools are required to limit outdoor activities when the air quality reaches the ‘High’ health risk. This has been useful in reducing respiratory problems in children who are more sensitive to air pollution or who have respiratory illnesses such as asthma (GovHK, 2023).

Another measure that the government has put in place is the phasing out of diesel vehicles. Not only does diesel contain gaseous pollutants, but diesel engines can also undergo chemical reactions in the atmosphere. This leads to the production of PM2.5 and ozone in the atmosphere (California Air Resources Board, n.d.). So far, the Hong Kong government has taken 76,000 government-operated diesel vehicles out of service. This number is expected to rise within the next year (IQAir, 2023).

In addition to the removal of diesel-operating vehicles, the government is also promoting the alternative use of electric vehicles (EVs). On the 17th of March 2021, the government revealed the ‘Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles.’ This scheme promotes the use of EVs and outlines the plan to implement supporting facilities so that Hong Kong can reach zero emissions from vehicles by 2050 (IQAir, 2023). A few of the measures that this scheme includes are: allocating money to purchase electric buses, and also to install EV charging stations in car parks of residential buildings (Environmental Protection Department, 2023).

A suggestion to reduce carbon emissions in Hong Kong would be converting the coal-fired power stations to natural gas. When natural gas is used to produce energy, it needs a lot less energy input compared to coal. Natural gas also produces 60% fewer CO2 emissions than coal when producing the same amount of energy. Thus, this would reduce the amount of PM2.5 particulates polluting the air (Gas Vessel, n.d.).

These measures have helped Hong Kong’s air quality improve throughout the past decade and inputting more solutions will help the visibility significantly.

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