A year in a word: Airpocalypse – China is getting airy ambitions

December 30, 2013 4:26 pm

A year in a word: Airpocalypse – China is getting airy ambitions

By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing

The yellow-brown toxic blanket that has become commonplace in China’s capital

(noun) – the shockingly high levels of air pollutants plaguing major Chinese cities, particularly in winter in the colder north of the country, where coal-burning is the main source of electricity and heating.

This portmanteau word was coined at the start of 2013 as dark sulphurous clouds of pollution descended on Beijing, blocking out the sun and sending residents scurrying to buy face masks, air filter machines and air tickets to escape the smoggy Armageddon.In January and February the volume of harmful microscopic particulates in Beijing’s air reached 60 times the recommended healthy level and the Chinese government issued warnings to people not to go outside or even exert themselves while at home with the windows tightly closed.

For many expatriates, especially those with children, the prospect of emphysema and lung cancer proved decisive, and there was an exodus throughout the year that gathered pace as school terms ended.

Some moved to Shanghai, where they hoped they would be able to avoid the hazy day of judgment, but in recent weeks China’s commercial capital has been enveloped in the same yellow-brown toxic blanket that has become commonplace in the capital.

At one of the larger international schools in Beijing a decision was made to build a giant hermetically sealed fresh-air dome over the sports field so that students can still play and exercise, even on the most heavily polluted days.

The growing concern is partly due to increased awareness about the issue.

Not long after the 2008 Olympic Games, the US embassy installed a monitor on its roof to detect the level of PM2.5 – particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrograms or less, which can enter the human blood stream through our lungs – in Beijing’s air.

Initially the findings were published only on the embassy’s Twitter feed, limiting the impact because Twitter is blocked in China.

But with the rise of domestic Twitter-like services such as Sina Weibo, public campaigns by Chinese celebrities eventually forced the authorities to admit the scale of the problem and start publishing more accurate figures.

Unlike “airpocalypse”, which does not yet have a Chinese equivalent, the term PM2.5 (pronounced “PM er dian wu” in Mandarin) has transcended linguistic barriers and is just as likely to be heard from the lips of the average Beijinger as from a native English speaker.

China’s ruling Communist party sees the issue as a potential omen of its eventual downfall as the country’s growing middle class increasingly questions the legitimacy of an authoritarian regime that cannot even guarantee its citizens clean air.

The government has made some attempts to clean up polluting factories and steel mills, and has vowed to improve fuel standards and limit the number of cars on the country’s gridlocked roads.

But as temperatures drop and the coal-fired power stations stoke their fires, residents in China’s biggest cities are bracing for another dark and depressing winter.