Air quality in Yuncheng

How polluted is the air in Yuncheng?

Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, the People's Republic of China (PRC). It shares a border with Linfen in the north and with Jincheng to the east. Henan and Shaanxi provinces are its neighbours towards the south and west, respectively. In the 2010 census, the population was just over 5 million inhabitants, of whom 680,036 lived in the metro area called the Yanhu District.

In the second quarter of 2021, Yuncheng was experiencing a period of “Unhealthy” air with a US AQI reading of 153. This is in accordance with the classification suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The concentration levels of the six recorded pollutants were as follows: PM2.5 - 58.5 µg/m³, PM10 - 107 µg/m³, ozone (O3) - 93 µg/m³, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - 19.5 µg/m³, sulphur dioxide (SO2) - 19 µg/m³ and carbon monoxide (CO) - 800 µg/m³. With pollution levels as high as these, it is advisable to close doors and windows to prevent the ingress of dirty air into the rooms. Those of a sensitive disposition should avoid venturing outside until the air quality improves and even then they should wear a good quality face mask. Everybody should avoid strenuous outdoor activities because even strong healthy people are susceptible to polluted air. If there is access to an air purifier, it would be beneficial to use it whilst the air quality is so poor.

Does the rate of air pollution vary throughout the year in Yuncheng?

Having studied the figures for 2020, just released on the IQAir website, it can be seen that the worst months for air pollution are the winter months of November through to the end of February when the air quality is classed as being “Unhealthy” with figures between 55.5 and 150.4 µg/m³. During March and April, June and September and October the air quality was “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” with readings between 35.5 and 55.4 µg/m³. For the remaining months of May, July and August, the quality showed a slight improvement with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³ which classified it as being “Moderate”.

Looking back at the previous years’ figures it can be seen that the air quality is showing signs of improvement. In 2017 the recorded figure was 71.9 µg/m³ with a marked improvement the following year of 59.8 µg/m³. A slightly worse figure was recorded in 2019 at 61.2 µg/m³ but then another improvement for 2020 with a figure of 57.7 µg/m³.

Where does the polluted air come from in Yuncheng?

On the banks of the Yellow River are stone quarries that take the opportunity to conduct blasting during the night when their actions go unnoticed by the authorities. This obviously creates a huge amount of dust that can be seen for miles. Smoke can be seen silhouetted against the pale night sky.

Coal accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the energy consumption of this area. Heavy chemical production units are found in this area producing such as alumina, coking, steel and coal. Some companies are small in scale and have little equipment. In recent years, the PM2.5 concentration here has increased.

In 2018, the Fenwei Plain was listed as one of the three main battlefields of the Blue Sky Defence War. "Incorporating the Fenwei Plain into a national key region is mainly due to the fact that its PM2.5 concentration will rise instead of fall. It has become one of the most severely polluted regions in the country.

The Fenwei Plain is the area with the highest concentration of sulphur dioxide in China and the area with the second-highest concentration of PM2.5. Data shows that coal accounts for nearly 90 per cent of energy consumption in the Fenwei Plain, which is much higher than the national average of 60 per cent.

This area is actually "two mountains and one river” which makes it easy for pollution to gather in the valley, but also easily causes pollution to transfer to each other.

Can anything be done to lessen the air pollution in Yuncheng?

Since the beginning of autumn, adverse weather conditions such as high humidity and temperature inversion have frequently occurred, and the atmospheric environmental capacity has been significantly smaller than that in spring and summer. In November, the large-scale meteorological conditions are dominated by light to moderate pollution. The industrial structure is biased toward heavy industries, the energy structure is biased toward coal, and the transportation structure is biased toward roads. The total amount of internal air pollutant emissions is large and the intensity is high, and the pollutant concentration continues to be maintained at a high level, which is not conducive to the diffusion of pollutants.

The main sources are split into three main categories and each will be addressed by its own authority. The traffic police department will focus on motor vehicle pollution and do a good job in the management and control of vehicles entering the city; the industry and information technology will supervise industry at times of peak production. The third is to conduct strict work assessments, conduct monthly assessments of the ambient air quality in each county, and reward and punish those based on the management and control situation, and at the same time, focus on the work development situation, and conduct interviews and accountability for units and individuals who do not perform their duties properly.

What precautions can be taken to lessen the effects of polluted air on health?

The suggestion is that children, the elderly, and patients with respiratory, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases should stay indoors as much as possible, open windows for ventilation (when the air is clean enough to do so), take protective measures when going out, and remind the general population to minimise and avoid outdoor activities and travel as much as possible Avoid busy traffic areas and multiple road junctions; outdoor workers and other personnel should take necessary protective measures such as wearing masks and shortening outdoor working hours; primary and secondary schools and kindergartens should stop or reduce outdoor courses and activities; various medical and health institutions are encouraged to strengthen protection publicity and offer medical guidance for patients with respiratory diseases.

In order to encourage green public transportation for everyone’s health. Walk for distances less than 1 km, ride a bicycle for less than 3 km, and take a bus for less than 5 km to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, turn off the engine once parked, and reduce the idling speed of the vehicle.