air are on the rise, says Professor Hak
Kan Lai, a research assistant professor
in epidemiology and biostatistics at
the Hong Kong University’s School of
Public Health.
“Gas pollution, such as roadside
emissions including nitrogen dioxides
and sulphur dioxide, is getting worse
every month. The result is that Hong
Kong’s air quality consistently exceeds
the WHO guidelines by more than
300 per cent.”
The WHO guidelines don’t even
represent “good quality air”, warns
Professor Anthony Hedley, creator of
the Hedley Environmental Index and
Emeritus Professor at the Hong Kong
University’s School of Public Health.
“You could think of them as standards
for ‘safer air’, but I’m not going to call
them ‘safe’ as the criteria continues to
change the more we discover about the
ill effects of air pollution on the body,”
he says.
“These events, where Hong
Kong’s pollution exceeds acceptable
levels, occur on a daily basis,” laments
Professor Hedley. “The effect is we’re
having a long-term, continuous,
high-level exposure to pollutant levels
Summer 2014
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