For Seven Straight Years, PM 2.5 Pollution In Beijing Has Averaged 5X WHO's Daily Recs

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Over the past seven years, levels of particulate matter in Beijing's air smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) averaged nearly five times the recommended daily level set by the World Health Organization, according to data from a monitoring station at the U.S. embassy. The medical implications of sustained exposure are sobering. A study by Greenpeace and scientists at Peking University based on 2013 data attributed more than 257,000 premature deaths in 31 Chinese cities to PM2.5, making it a bigger killer than smoking.

Awareness of the dangers of Beijing's skies is on the rise, thanks to growing data on its air quality. Anyone can monitor pollution using apps providing hourly updates of PM2.5 levels, based on government or U.S. embassy readings.

Sales of air purifiers are expected to see annual growth of 33 percent over the next five years, according to TechSci Research, but they don't come cheap. High-end models can cost much more than 3,600 yuan ($574), the average monthly salary in Beijing.

Some expatriates are considering leaving China for good. J. Kim, a Korean who has worked there for more than 10 years, said he developed rhinitis and asthma during his most recent stint in Beijing, as a result of breathing its polluted air. When pollution levels reached a record in January 2013, a phenomenon dubbed the "airpocalypse", Kim decided to leave. He sent his children to South Korea last year and will join them as soon as his company, a maker of electric vehicles, finds him a suitable post back home. "For Chinese there's nothing they can do, but as a foreigner I have the choice to live here or somewhere else," he said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/04/us-china-pollution-parliament-idUSKBN0M00S620150304