Pollution numbers might be decreasing however the next government should acknowledge that the unrelenting development in roadway transportation and blockage continues to drive Hong Kong’s roadside air quality problems, an environmental group has cautioned.
The Clean Air Network’s newest air quality evaluation indicated a “strong” connection in between hours of high nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations determined at roadside air quality tracking stations and traffic conditions.
2 weeks ago the Environmental Protection Department reported enhancements in air quality and admired its efforts to deal with pollution– specifically particulate matter– through regulations such as phasing out old commercial diesel automobiles.
However the NGO’s CEO Patrick Fung Kin-wai, worried that hazardous NO2 levels produced in fuel combustion were still far from safe which the automobile development had to be suppressed.
“The initial step to resolving the issue is to accept that [uncontrolled automobile growth] is a problem,” Fung stated.
“Traffic operators and bus franchises blame unlawful parking and believe it’s an enforcement concern. Private vehicle [owners] state there’s no place to park, so its a land concern. Public transportation users blame private car chauffeurs– possibly it’s a wealth gap problem. Automobile owners then state it’s a free market.”
The group outlined average yearly pollution levels versus average yearly everyday traffic on a spatial circulation map. The outcomes revealed that at stations on hectic roadways– 105,000 vehicles or more going through day-to-day– NO2 concentrations were on average over 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This is the level set as the city’s yearly air quality goal and the World Health Organisation’s advised safe limitation.
