companies in the survey, most of them in the Beijing area, said they had senior executives because of the poor air. That figure was only 19 percent in the chamber’s 2008 survey. As a result, some companies are now offering bonuses or higher salaries to fill openings in China, which foreign workers are calling pollution pay and a few are even announcing the policy publicly, as — Panasonic, the Japanese electronics maker, did in mid-March. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, worldwide in 2012. More than one-third of those deaths occurred in fast-developing nations in Asia, including China and India. In both those countries, nearly the entire population is exposed to fine particles in the air known as PM 2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, in an article posted on Scientific American’s website. They wrote that a recent global environmental index showed that China and India ranked worst in terms of populations affected by poor air. Most Chinese Cities Fail Minimum Air Quality Standards, Study Says By MARCH 27, 2014 Photo In Beijing, some residents wear masks to protect themselves from the poor air, the pollution standards were met on only 48 percent of days last year. Credit BEIJING Only three of the 74 Chinese cities monitored by the central government managed to meet — official minimum standards for air quality last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced this week, underscoring the country’s severe pollution problems. The dirtiest cities were in northern China, where coal-powered industries are concentrated, including electricity generation and steel manufacturing. The ministry said in its announcement, posted on its website on Tuesday, that in the broad northern region that includes the large cities of Beijing and Tianjin as well as the province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, the air quality standards were met on only 37 percent of days last year. Beijing, with 20 million people, did so on only 48 percent of days, the ministry said. The three cities that met the standards were Haikou, Zhoushan and Lhasa.
companies in the survey, most of them in the Beijing area, said they had senior executives because of the poor air. That figure was only 19 percent in the chamber’s 2008 survey. As a result, some companies are now offering bonuses or higher salaries to fill openings in China, which foreign workers are calling pollution pay — and a few are even announcing the policy publicly, as Panasonic, the Japanese electronics maker, did in mid-March. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, worldwide in 2012. More than one-third of those deaths occurred in fast-developing nations in Asia, including China and India. In both those countries, nearly the entire population is exposed to fine particles in the air known as PM 2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, in an article posted on Scientific American’s website. They wrote that a recent global environmental index showed that China and India ranked worst in terms of populations affected by poor air. Most Chinese Cities Fail Minimum Air Quality Standards, Study Says By MARCH 27, 2014 Photo In Beijing, some residents wear masks to protect themselves from the poor air, the pollution standards were met on only 48 percent of days last year. Credit BEIJING — Only three of the 74 Chinese cities monitored by the central government managed to meet official minimum standards for air quality last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced this week, underscoring the country’s severe pollution problems. The dirtiest cities were in northern China, where coal-powered industries are concentrated, including electricity generation and steel manufacturing. The ministry said in its announcement, posted on its website on Tuesday, that in the broad northern region that includes the large cities of Beijing and Tianjin as well as the province of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, the air quality standards were met on only 37 percent of days last year. Beijing, with 20 million people, did so on only 48 percent of days, the ministry said. The three cities that met the standards were Haikou, Zhoushan and Lhasa.
beijingair.docx