NOV 1 — The first question thrown at me after the usual pleasantries is how I like living in Hong Kong. This is swiftly followed by “but the air pollution there is so bad!”
And that is the sad truth. It is. Bad. Hong Kong may be a relatively clean city but the fragrant harbour’s air quality remains very poor.
Earlier this week the air pollution index hit a record high of nine years. Roadside air pollution readings soared to 174 overnight in Central district (the Environmental Protection Department warns those with heart or respiratory illnesses to stay indoors when the index hits 101).
The smog was reportedly so dense that one had to strain to see the usually clear view of Tsim Sha Tsui from Victoria Harbour.
Even on good days, my very own pollution-reader — my toddler’s ears and nose — tells me just how unclean the air is. On the days when we take the bus into Causeway Bay or Central, bath time reveals lint-lined ear wax and thick mucus from his nose.
The black lint was the shocker. The only other time I had seen it was when I took the London Underground. Those tunnels are about a hundred years old so old soot, dirt et al are understandable and expected.
This dirt business is prevalent at home, too, despite living on the 32nd floor, way above the elevated bridge linking us to Hong Kong island and despite living in a less congested, sea-facing part of the city.
Dust balls form within two days even with the windows and doors shut, necessitating my visiting elderly mother-in-law to bend over and pick up every last one, repeatedly saying “an jang, an jang (dirty, dirty)”.
So yes, back to the pollution. We did not see blue skies the entire week when we first arrived here, just hazy gray, as if a dirty mop had been used to paint a canvas.
My dependable pollution-reader came down with a rash on his face that stayed for about ten days as his immune system familiarised itself with the new surroundings.
My husband, a pollution-reader himself, still suffers from regular bouts of sinusitis which worsens during the smouldering summer months.
And just to prove that it is indeed a Hong Kong thing, their allergies disappear when we fly back to Kuala Lumpur.
We are not alone in our suffering. Earlier this year, the Australian government cited air pollution as a health issue in its new travel advisory for Hong Kong. It warned that the level of air pollution in the city may aggravate bronchial, sinus or asthma conditions.
It is heartening to know that some folks here won’t settle for their lot of bad air.
The charity “Clear the Air” has been actively campaigning to do just that in Hong Kong since 1997. One of its missions is “to educate the public on the impact of air pollution on their health and wealth”.
According to their website, www.cleartheair.org, 53 per cent of air pollution in Hong Kong is generated by local coal-fired power plants (could this be the source of the mysterious lint?), old diesel trucks and ships.
This means that not all the blame can be pinned squarely on whipping boy Guangdong, which is frequently cited as the source of pollutants carried by cross-border winds.
Meanwhile, the air is changing. With winter around the bend, cool northerly winds will blow our way, bringing us crisp, fresh air and hopefully less lint.
Finally, spotted on the official HK Tourism Board’s Discover Hong Kong website is the tagline of the current Wine and Dine festival: “A feast for all senses”. I wouldn’t guarantee that, especially if your sinuses are bunged up.
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