Air quality in Jinzhou

What is the level of air pollution in Jinzhou?

Jinzhou also formerly known as Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is the fourth largest city in the province with a 2010 population of 3.1 million people. 1 million of these live in the metropolitan areas which consists of three districts. The city's southern coast is a 98 kilometre stretch of the Liaodong Bay making it China’s most northern seaport and a very strategic trading position.

During the first half of 2021, Jinzhou was experiencing a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 52. This follows the guidelines as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is an internationally used set of metrics that is used when comparing air quality in different cities across the globe. In order to determine this level, there are usually six of the most prevalent pollutants which are measured. The concentrations found in Jinzhou were as follows: PM2.5 - 11 µg/m³, PM10 - 57 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 76 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - 9 µg/m³, sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 7 µg/m³ and carbon monoxide (CO) - 500 µg/m³.

With levels such as these, the advice given is to stay inside and close all doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more dirty air into the rooms. Those people of a sensitive disposition should avoid venturing outside whilst the air is of such poor quality. A consultation of the table at the top of this page will help you plan ahead for when the air is less polluted.

Is the level of air pollution in Jinzhou the same all year round?

Air pollution can be very volatile and is subject to many variables which can quickly change the condition of the atmosphere.

By looking at the figures released for 2020 by the Swiss company IQAir.com, it can easily be seen that the best air quality was enjoyed through the summer months from May until the end of September. The air quality was classified as “Moderate” with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. During March and April the air quality was slightly worse with figures between 35.5 and 55.4 µg/m³ which placed it in the “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” class. A similar thing happened during autumn when the figures recorded in October were 46.7 µg/m³ and 48.1 µg/m³ for November. The winter months of December, January and February provided the poorest air quality when figures placed in in the “Unhealthy” classification with figures between 55.5 and 150.4 µg/m³.

Records of air quality were first kept in 2017 when a figure of 46.8 µg/m³ was recorded. The following year saw a slight improvement at 44.4 µg/m³. Since then it has been stable with 45.3 µg/m³ in 2019 and 46.9 µg/m³ in 2020. In nearly all other cities the 2020 figure has been much lower than previous years because of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic when most private vehicle use was prohibited and certain industries were told to suspend operations until further notice. This had a big impact on air cleanliness.

Where does the polluted air in Jinzhou come from?

However, as the surrounding areas host a large number of high energy-consuming industries such as electricity, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, and chemicals, coal and other energy consumption are huge and diesel trucks and non-road machinery are used frequently, which are still high polluters.

According to preliminary estimates, the sulphur dioxide emission intensity of the surrounding areas is still 3.6 times the national average, and nitrogen oxide and smoke dust emissions are 4 times and 6 times the national average respectively.

From the perspective of pollutant emission sources, electricity, coal-fired boilers, metallurgy, building materials, diesel trucks and off-road machinery are the main sources of pollution.

What can be done to improve the air quality in Jinzhou?

In the urban built-up area, 42 square kilometres of high-polluting fuel burning zone is designated, the sale and use of high-polluting fuels are prohibited, and a new coal-fired boiler access system was implemented. The following have now been completed: 48 key industry upgrading projects, involving desulphurisation, denitrification and dust removal in the power industry, desulphurisation in the iron and steel industry, and sulphur dioxide treatment in the petrochemical industry. 48 coal-fired boilers of more than 20 tons have been equipped with automatic pollution source monitoring facilities to ensure stable operation of the network and implement effective monitoring.

165 new green-label road signs were added, obvious warning signs were set up on main streets, and traffic restrictions were adopted to eliminate 23,517 yellow-label vehicles and old vehicles. The replacement of clean energy vehicles in urban public transport was accelerated, and successively used 489 clean energy buses, which has solved the problem of black smoke from public transport vehicles. 3,906 taxis have all been converted from oil to gas.

Special treatment was carried out on construction sites, road dust, and slag transportation dust. Clear requirements and strict inspections were put forward on construction site enclosures, material stacking, entrance and exit ground hardening, vehicle washing devices, etc., and cumulative inspections and corrections of bulk freight vehicles.

What effect does polluted air in Jinzhou have on human health?

The influence of air pollution on health depends on many factors. In addition to the concentration and chemical characteristics of pollutants in the air, the age and general health of the person concerned, the length of time they have been exposed to the pollutant, the climate, and the distance between the source of emission and the contact, etc., will all have different effects on health. . People who need to work or play outdoors frequently have increased exposure to air pollutants. In general, the health risks of short-term exposure to pollutants are usually lower.

Air pollution has many possible health effects, ranging from slight physiological changes in the body to obvious symptoms such as an itchy nose and throat, wheezing, coughing, chest pains or chest tightness. Patients with asthma or chronic respiratory diseases will get worse if they are subjected to air pollutants. Although the amount to which different people are affected by air pollution depends on different factors, people of different ages are all affected by poor air quality, and air pollution has a greater impact on young children and senior citizens.