Air Pollution in China: Why is it Happening? 

This article was submitted to the Beacon by guest contributors Miku M and Jason C, both tenth graders.

In China, pollution has become one of the biggest issues that cloud citizens’ lives. China’s citizens, as well as the growing number of expats living in this country, have begun to demand that this issue be handled with urgency.

One type of pollution that has made a severe impact on the environment is air pollution. The most common way to measure pollutants in the air is through the air quality index, also known as AQI. The higher the number, the more polluted the air is. The following is a chart displaying what each level of the AQI represents.

Recently in Guangzhou, from February 6 – 13, an AQI of over 100 has been recorded every single day, reaching an unhealthy level for sensitive groups. The highest AQI between those days was 168 on February 10, representing an unhealthy level for all. China was ranked the second worst out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index of 2016.

The causes of air pollution vary; many often think of the burning of fossil fuels, manufacturing output and agricultural development. However, the citizens’ contribution cannot be ignored. Due to overpopulation and developments in the economy, there has been an increase in motorized vehicles and other human activity that worsens the pollution. As the population grows in China, there will be an increase in the frequency of these activities. Because pollution is largely interdependent on pollutants emitted by humans, it can be predicted that the concentration of contaminants in the air will also increase. As the contaminants in the air increase, there will be negative consequences on the environment if no measures are taken to curb humans’ impact.

So, why is pollution such a severe issue? The answer lies in the negative impacts that pollutants have on the ecosystem. An ecosystem consists of a community of species and the environment; these are made up of numerous food chains and food webs in which organisms interact with each other. Every aspect of an ecosystem is dependent on many biogeochemical cycles, such as the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. If one part of the ecosystem is affected by air pollutants, the organisms also face large impacts. Air pollution may cause the environment to be unsuitable for a specific organism, which causes the organism to die off, affecting the food chain.

Air pollution is especially harmful to primary producers such as trees. Since plants provide the most energy for the ecosystem, losing trees will decrease energy available for other organisms. Pollutants may include the ground-level ozone. The ozone layer in the atmosphere is natural, functioning to protect the Earth from the ultraviolet rays in sunlight. However, ground level ozone is toxic to some plants, and may even negatively impact humans.

Air pollutants can also be carried through the atmosphere with the wind, releasing nitrogen into bodies of water. This then causes acidification, or the decrease in pH levels. As this continues, the quality of the water decreases, making it difficult for many organisms to survive. Due to moving through the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen in water can also cause eutrophication, the process where extreme amounts of nutrients enter lakes and oceans. Eutrophication can lead to an algal bloom, where the water’s surface is covered with algae that block the sunlight. This results in difficulty for aquatic plants and other organisms to survive, decreasing the efficiency of the habitat, as well as the overall water quality. Polluted water can also enter drinking water through the water cycle, impacting agricultural development and human health.

These impacts are not limited to one group of species, but affect the interrelated organisms in a food chain. With each trophic level, the amount of pollutants increases; this process is called biomagnification. For instance, if an eagle consumes a mouse infected by pollutants, it will take in extreme amounts of toxins. Additionally, if a population of a certain species decreases, there will be less energy to pass on to the next trophic levels. Therefore, each organism becomes susceptible to many risks, including decrease in reproductive success, increase in health issues, and loss of habitat.

Air pollution does not only impact one small part of an environment, but the entire ecosystem. As individual citizens, we might not be able to stop the burning of fossil fuels, but there are certain changes we can make to better the environment. Whether it be using public transportation to travel, or planting small trees, one small action can make the Earth greener.