According to the study by the environmental non-profit organization Clean Air Network the bad air is not only to blame on noxious fumes from factories across the border to mainland China, but also on local pollution sources such as the city’s ageing car fleets. In particular the city’s aging taxi fleet is fuelling the problem according to the report.

In the commercial districts of Central and Western levels of nitrogen dioxide, a key air pollutant, increased 22 per cent. According to the analysis such levels of pollution exceed World Health Organization-recommended safe limits by more than 60 per cent.

A few weeks before this alarming study, another review in mainland China also found that poor air quality reduced lifespans and in the case of mainland China by more than five years. Even a short exposure to high levels of air pollution can support heart failure, arrhythmias and stroke.

Source: China Realtime Report