Regrettable: China faces serious pollution problems [video]

Do you wake up, get up, do all the standard procedures for leaving home to study or work, and suddenly where are the blue and the clouds in the sky? And the fresh air, where is it? Did they take it away? Well, a few years ago this is part of the daily life of thousands of Chinese, unfortunately. Just to give you an idea, the hourly reading of the Air Quality Index (AQI) by the US embassy broke the scale limit, which goes up to 500, reaching 755.

In addition, particulate matter levels of less than 2.5 micrometres - the highest risk fine air particles that are considered safe when the reading reaches a maximum of 25 parts per million inhabitants - have reached almost 900! That is, China has very, very serious problems even with regard to air and water as well.

The documentary below (in two parts) shows the sad air situation in the country, with testimonials from residents. It's worth checking out how critical the situation is:

According to the video, about 60% of the world's most polluted cities are Chinese, including Linfen - considered a toxic waste with streets, houses, buildings and factories - is the worst ranked in the ranking.

What is the reason?

The cause of this ecological disaster is logical: the annual economic growth of the most populous Blue Planet country has reached 10% (it is already the largest economy in the world), making plans to combat environmental pollution stick to beside.

As a result, unbridled energy consumption, especially coal, which accounts for 80% of China's entire energy mix, has caused huge damage to the air and water of thousands of Chinese. Smoke has dominated in many corners of the country for at least the last three decades.

As if that were not enough, there is another serious problem: car fever. Nowhere else on earth has the car fleet grown as fast as in China. Today, the country has more cars than the United States, and each month more than one million vehicles are licensed and licensed.

Do you know what the result is? Kilometer traffic jams that are growing day by day and the sad aggravation of large-scale air pollution, largely affecting the country's water quality.

Deaths and more deaths

According to some health experts, more than 500, 000 Chinese die each year from illnesses caused or aggravated by air pollution, which is unfortunate. However, it is obvious that the Chinese government does not confirm this death toll.

Have a solution?

After much pressure, grievances and protests, the government decided to take some steps and take the lead to curb the problem. "The government has no choice but to react and take action, " says Wei Huang, an air pollution expert and Greenpeace member in Beijing.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang was clear: “Pollution is the main enemy. An enemy created indoors. ” Since then, 50, 000 coal-fired furnaces have been closed, some thermoelectric plants have been modernized and six million vehicles (considered inefficient) have been removed from the streets. In addition, today there is a strong incentive for the use of solar and wind energy, as well as a plan to accelerate tree planting in an area of ​​330, 000 football fields.

Curiosity

Speaking of soccer, did you know that Chinese technology was present at the World Cup here in Brazil? Yeah! Exactly 3, 650 Chinese solar panels were installed in the Pernambuco Arena and 1, 556 in the Maracanã stadium, totaling the equivalent of 49, 000 trees planted in Tupiniquin lands. With this, the level of emission of pollutant gases will drop significantly and this helps Brazil, which today is the sixth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous dioxide in the world.

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And do you, the reader, know of other places where air or water quality is critical? Be sure to share your information with us in the comments below.