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Shanghai's moderate pollution is set to stay until rains come to save the day
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THE “moderate” air pollution experienced over the past few days will ease slightly today, but is unlikely to clear completely until a fresh bank of rain clouds arrives in the city tomorrow, forecasters said yesterday.
The air quality index (AQI) reached a peak of 190 at 7pm on Sunday, which was just 11 points below the “heavily polluted” level.
The tiny particulate matter known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs, was the major pollutant.
While the situation improved yesterday morning — the AQI moved into “good” territory for a short while — by noon the gauge was back up to 153 and stayed in that region for the rest of the day.
According to the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, much of the pollution was carried into the city on winds that originated in the northern reaches of the Yangtze River Delta. A subsequent lack of wind, however, meant that the pollution was not dispersed and so remained as a murky cloud in the city sky.
The AQI is expected to fall to between 95 and 115 this morning, before dipping under 90 in the afternoon, the center said, adding that PM2.5 will once again be the major pollutant.
The situation should improve significantly on Wednesday, as the expected rains dampen the pervasive particles, it said.
Following widespread reports of dense smog in northeast China, an official from the monitoring center said it will not affect Shanghai.
“The air pollution in the northeast of the country is being carried on northerly winds out to sea, so unless there is an unexpected and significant wind change, it won’t be a problem for Shanghai,” the person said.
The provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang have been blanketed with acrid smog since Sunday, with pollutant levels reaching 46 times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limits.
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