5 ms·

Singapore's air is much better than Hong Kong's or Shanghai's. I grew up in the great white north, surrounded by nature, and on a day to day basis, Singapore's

by latch 13y ago

Singapore's air is much better than Hong Kong's or Shanghai's. I grew up in the great white north, surrounded by nature, and on a day to day basis, Singapore's air is fine. But this annual haze, largely caused by burning in Sumatra to create more farm land, is brutal. It's slightly worse than the worst I've seen in Hong Kong (Summer 2012) and it feels like it's lasting longer than the really bad spikes you get in HK. Overall, I'll take 1-2 weeks of hazardous air, versus the more constant unhealthy air of Hong Kong or Shanghai. Sadly, both HK and Singapore are quick to blame others. SG blames Indonesia, HK blames factories in Southern China. Even if both claims are true with respect to total pollution, both regions could be doing much more to reduce pollution. P.S. - If anyone at Amazon or 3M is reading this...there's a need for N95 masks. The people most at risk are also the people less able to spend $3 a day on a mask - homeless, elderly, construction, cleaners.

Gigablah 13y ago
You say that Singapore's air is "fine" on a day to day basis. If that's the case there's nothing wrong with Singapore placing the blame on Indonesia.
- latch 13y ago
  The fires in Indonesia are definitely the main problem right now. However, there's some talk that Singapore companies are involved in the burning and some talk that there's burning of palm fields to the south. I honestly have no clue. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that even though it's fine on an day to day basis, there's still some pretty low hanging fruit they should be on top of, especially given how much growth the country's still going through.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- bilbo0s 13y ago
  Well... In the interest of full disclosure... It's NON-Indonesian corporations that are the ones engaging in the illegal burning. Further, some of those corps are controlled out of Singapore. Which is ... ironic.
  - bvi 13y ago
    There have been a few suggestions by the Indonesian officials on this - can you elaborate on which corporations exactly? I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I've not been able to find direct information on "non-Indonesian corporations" who engage in illegal burning, so if you have sources, that would be great.
  - brisance 13y ago
    It's a blame game. Can anyone deny that the source of the fire originates from Sumatra Indonesia? Is Indonesia a sovereign nation or not? If Indonesia says that it is not responsible for the fires because they are started by non-Indonesian corporations operating on Indonesian soil, then either you are very naive or Singapore would be fully justified in mobilizing its armed forces to deal with the situation.
TylerE 13y ago
Or better yet, spend $30 on a rubber mask and get a couple hundred hours out of $10 worth of filters. As a bonus those type of masks are usually N99/N100 grade filters also.
ddeck 13y ago
HK blames factories in Southern China. Even if both claims are true with respect to total pollution, both regions could be doing much more to reduce pollution This is a common misconception. The reality is that local sources cause the majority of Hong Kong's air pollution. Marine, road transport, and power generation are the three primary contributors. Marine contributes an astonishing amount of SO2 and NO2 and the worst part is that is easily solvable. While most developed countries wont allow ships to burn filty bunker fuel within ~100 miles of the coastline, HK allows them to burn it for days while sitting at port. There was an article a few years back about how the largest container ships each produce an equivalent amount of air pollution as 50 million cars when burning such fuel. Several logistics companies voluntarily switched to cleaner fuel on a trial basis. The cost difference puts them at a disadvantage to their competitors and they have urged the government to force the requirement on all. Without it being mandated, they will be switching back shortly. Predictably, the the government has refused citing a "need to coordinate with neighboring regions". No doubt they will put a committee together to study the potential to create a preliminary discussion document due 2033.
- albahk 13y ago
  If HK's poor air quality is caused by locally-produced pollution why does the air quality in HK significantly improve during Mainland Chinese National Holidays (when factories in Southern China shut down but HK's so called pollution-generators like public transport, shipping and power stations remain operating as per normal)? I agree that roadside pollution levels especially in Causeway Bay and Mongkok are most likely caused by local transport, but the clear-air and high visibility during Golden weeks and CNY suggest significant contributions from north of the border.
  - ddeck 13y ago
    In short, it doesn't. Mainland holidays that are also HK holidays see reduced pollution levels, however mainland only holidays do not coincide with significantly lower levels of air pollutants.

by latch 13y ago

Gigablah 13y ago

You say that Singapore's air is "fine" on a day to day basis. If that's the case there's nothing wrong with Singapore placing the blame on Indonesia.

latch 13y ago
The fires in Indonesia are definitely the main problem right now. However, there's some talk that Singapore companies are involved in the burning and some talk that there's burning of palm fields to the south. I honestly have no clue. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that even though it's fine on an day to day basis, there's still some pretty low hanging fruit they should be on top of, especially given how much growth the country's still going through.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
bilbo0s 13y ago
Well... In the interest of full disclosure... It's NON-Indonesian corporations that are the ones engaging in the illegal burning. Further, some of those corps are controlled out of Singapore. Which is ... ironic.
- bvi 13y ago
  There have been a few suggestions by the Indonesian officials on this - can you elaborate on which corporations exactly? I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I've not been able to find direct information on "non-Indonesian corporations" who engage in illegal burning, so if you have sources, that would be great.
- brisance 13y ago
  It's a blame game. Can anyone deny that the source of the fire originates from Sumatra Indonesia? Is Indonesia a sovereign nation or not? If Indonesia says that it is not responsible for the fires because they are started by non-Indonesian corporations operating on Indonesian soil, then either you are very naive or Singapore would be fully justified in mobilizing its armed forces to deal with the situation.

TylerE 13y ago

Or better yet, spend $30 on a rubber mask and get a couple hundred hours out of $10 worth of filters. As a bonus those type of masks are usually N99/N100 grade filters also.

ddeck 13y ago

HK blames factories in Southern China. Even if both claims are true with respect to total pollution, both regions could be doing much more to reduce pollution This is a common misconception. The reality is that local sources cause the majority of Hong Kong's air pollution. Marine, road transport, and power generation are the three primary contributors. Marine contributes an astonishing amount of SO2 and NO2 and the worst part is that is easily solvable. While most developed countries wont allow ships to burn filty bunker fuel within ~100 miles of the coastline, HK allows them to burn it for days while sitting at port. There was an article a few years back about how the largest container ships each produce an equivalent amount of air pollution as 50 million cars when burning such fuel. Several logistics companies voluntarily switched to cleaner fuel on a trial basis. The cost difference puts them at a disadvantage to their competitors and they have urged the government to force the requirement on all. Without it being mandated, they will be switching back shortly. Predictably, the the government has refused citing a "need to coordinate with neighboring regions". No doubt they will put a committee together to study the potential to create a preliminary discussion document due 2033.

albahk 13y ago
If HK's poor air quality is caused by locally-produced pollution why does the air quality in HK significantly improve during Mainland Chinese National Holidays (when factories in Southern China shut down but HK's so called pollution-generators like public transport, shipping and power stations remain operating as per normal)? I agree that roadside pollution levels especially in Causeway Bay and Mongkok are most likely caused by local transport, but the clear-air and high visibility during Golden weeks and CNY suggest significant contributions from north of the border.
- ddeck 13y ago
  In short, it doesn't. Mainland holidays that are also HK holidays see reduced pollution levels, however mainland only holidays do not coincide with significantly lower levels of air pollutants.