The immense urban growth of Chinese cities substantially increases the need for consumer goods, vehicles and energy. This in turn increases the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in smog. Exposure to Smog poses a threat to the health of Chinese citizens.
China is rich in fossil fuel resources and doesn't resist exploiting them even though it also invests in green energy sources (mainly solar). As a result, large amounts o greenhouse gases with particulate matter reach the atmosphere. Another reason is China's role in global trade.
World's Worst Mercury Polluter
China leads the world in mercury air pollution from its own dirty coal-burning power plants, as well as the plants that Chinese state-owned companies finance, build, and operate in other countries.
Air pollution in China
Industry, transportation, coal power plants and household solid fuel usage are major contributors to air pollution.
Top 10 most polluting countries 2022
The three countries with the highest CO2 emissions are: China with 9.9 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, largely due to the export of consumer goods and its heavy reliance on coal; The United States with 4.4 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted; India with 2.3 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted.
Of the world's most polluted 30 cities, 22 are in India, according to research by IQ AirVisual, a Swiss-based group that gathers air-quality data globally, and Greenpeace. The remaining eight cities are all in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China - but the list doesn't include Beijing, which comes in at number 122.
According to a WHO report on air pollution [34], China has the most severe air pollution, whereas Japan has the least severe air pollution. As for Korea, its residents perceive pollution to be the worst in their country, when in fact their country has better overall pollution than China.
Over the past decade, China's once-pollution-choked skies have steadily improved, according to more than two decades of atmospheric measurements taken by NASA satellites. But researchers say that there is still a long way to go to clean China's air and protect the health of its citizens.
94% of China's population lives east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line. West of the line: 57% of the area; only 6% of the population. East of the line: 43% of the area; 94% of the population. The line roughly demarcates historic Han China from territories occupied by force.
Starting on January 1, 2016, all Chinese couples are allowed to have two children. This marks the end of China's one-child policy, which has restricted themajority of Chinese families to only one child for the last 35 years. The process of ending the one-child policy occurred in three steps over the past three years.
Reduce air pollution emissions through pollution abatement measures including installing equipment to remove particulate matter, flue gas desulfurization, and denitrification, replacing coal with natural gas, and expanding clean energy vehicles.
During the 1970s, black smoke from stacks became the characteristic of Chinese industrial cities; in the 1980s, many southern cities began to suffer serious acid rain pollution; and recently, the air quality in large cities has deteriorated due to nitrous oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and photochemical smog, ...
Between massive amounts of dust particulates during the hot months, with increases in coal emissions during the cold months, China and all the countries in the path of the pollutants that travel around the world rarely get a break for clean air.
Beijing air pollution is mainly caused by vehicle emissions and the burning of coal to produce electricity. Other factors that influence air quality in Beijing include the manufacturing industry and population growth.
Of the 25 least polluted cities in the world with the best air quality, Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia) dominated the rankings with some of the cleanest air in the world in 2022.
The most polluted city in the world is Kashgar, China. From the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, 7 most polluted cities are in India.
Australian emissions
Australia is the world's 14th highest emitter, contributing just over 1 per cent of global emissions.
Australia has an average per capita footprint of 17 tonnes, followed by the US at 16.2 tonnes, and Canada at 15.6 tonnes. This is more than 3 times higher than the global average, which in 2017 was 4.8 tonnes per person.
Experts say Antarctica appears isolated from the pollution and dust from other continents to the north. The world's cleanest air is over the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, according to a study. The air was described by researchers as "truly pristine" and unaffected by pollution.
China emits 27 percent of global carbon dioxide and a third of the world's greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse-gas emissions reached their highest-ever level in 2021, with global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels topping 36 billion metric tons. China is currently the highest emitter, followed by the US. Combined emissions from the European Union are the next largest, with India and Russia following.