Human-caused climate change has exacerbated the hot and dry conditions that allow wildfires to ignite and grow. But, scientists and experts warn, there are only further challenges on the horizon – that even cities with normally good air like New York cannot escape. It’s an encouraging sign, and evidence that the right policies and investment can help fix air quality. In 2021, Beijing recorded its best monthly air quality since records began in 2013 photos now show mostly blue skies in the city. There are still issues – China has turned back to coal in recent years, rapidly building new power plants even as more and more countries look toward renewable energy – but the improvement in the capital is undeniable. The event attracted global media attention and forced the issue into China’s mainstream – and soon after, China launched a sweeping anti-pollution campaign, shutting down coal mines and coal plants, setting up nationwide air monitoring stations, and rolling out new regulations. That historic high meant the air was beyond hazardous, forcing residents to shut themselves indoors, wear filtered face masks, and crank air purifiers on high. It culminated in the infamous 2013 “air-pocalypse,” when the air quality index hit 755, smashing what was supposed to be the top of the scale at 500, according to the US Embassy in Beijing that kept a daily air quality monitor. Massive numbers of people sought medical attention for respiratory issues including asthma and shortness of breath, with one hospital saying wards were so full they had to turn some patients away.īut perhaps the city most notorious for its pollution – and that has most successfully turned things around – is Beijing.įor years, residents in the Chinese capital breathed in acrid air every day. More recently, Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai took the unenviable title of world’s most polluted city for at least a week straight in April, due to smoke from forest fires and crop burning elsewhere in the region. Just a few months later, Malaysia was again covered by a dense haze that came from large-scale forest fires in nearby Indonesia, allegedly lit to clear land for the production of paper, palm oil and other industries. In 2019, the air got so bad in Malaysia that dozens of students fell ill and experienced vomiting, prompting more than 400 schools to close across the country.
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