AQI exceeds 500

It's really no secret that China has a problem with air and water pollution, but lately it has been getting worse! I remember my brother-in-law telling me, "There are people in China that have never seen the sunshine because the smog is so bad" after I had decided to move to Shanghai. Although, I know that to be untrue now, it is not too far off as places like Beijing (and other northern cities) experience more days of dense dangerous smog than they do clear and fresh days! Shanghai is only half as smoggy as Beijing in average, but that victory is comparable to being the smoker who smokes only 5 packs a day instead of 10.

Yesterday, the Air Quality Index reached an incredible 580! But first, let me put this into perspective. The US Consulate has a rating system which put AQI between 0-50 as being "healthy" and over 100 as being "unhealthy". According to data from michigan.gov, in 2008, the average AQI was below 50 - "healthy". 2% of the year was considered to be "unhealthy" days and the highest recording was an AQI of 173 for the year.

Our policy at RBIS is that the children are not able to play outside on days when the AQI exceeds 200, and the government recommends that physical exertion indoors is even unhealthy when the AQI exceeds 300. So again, that number was 580! The highest that it has been in all of my time in Shanghai! Cars were being ordered off the roads, factories were being shut down and flights were begin canceled due to the high level of pollution, decreasing visibility.

my new favorite accessory

my friend sent me this photo of the view from his office (on the Bund)

Friday was over 500, but what about the rest of the week? In the last two weeks of school (10 days), my students have only been able to play outside once... ONCE. One out of ten days, the AQI was below 200 and considered "healthy" enough for children to run outside and inhale the pollution! That one day, I asked our school nurse about the AQI and she responded, "Today is good. Only 178!" 

Sure, it's not every day that I have difficulty breathing. It's not every day that I have to wear a mask the entire day (even while I'm teaching) because the air inside is not any better than the outside. It's not every day that I choke on the smog simply walking out of my apartment, smell it in the air or feel it burning in my eyes. Some days, the air quality is actually good (by good, I mean less than 100). Research shows that pollution intake on a day when the AQI exceeds 300, is comparable to smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. Microscopic air pollution particles have also been directly linked to respiratory problems and lung cancer. 

China doesn't want their dirty little secret getting out to the rest of the world though! "Wu Xiaoqing, the vice minister for environmental protection, demanded that foreign governments stop releasing data on China's air." Xiaoqing states that it is a violation of environmental protection and is a misrepresentation of the overall air quality of China (according to the NY Times).

So what is one worried expat to do? Wear a mask every day? Spend 1,000's on an air purifier? Avoid physical exertion outdoors? Move away?

Interested in seeing CNN's photos of the pollution from a satellite, click here.