Hong Kong's air pollution drives businesses to Singapore

Air pollution is a pox on Hong Kong’s business.

Just how bad can be gleaned from a report by the city's Environmental Protection Department which said pollution readings at three roadside monitoring stations in Hong Kong's Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok commercial districts showed that pollution levels were above the 100 mark more than 20% of the time.

This was 10 times worse than in 2005, when very high readings were recorded only two percent of the time, it said. This makes 2011 the worst year for air pollution in Hong Kong.

The deteriorating air quality in Hong Kong is being caused by vehicle emissions and industrial pollution from the neighboring Pearl River Delta. The worsening air pollution is already forcing many firms in the financial community to move to less polluted Singapore.

The department blamed the rise in pollution on unfavourable weather conditions, worsening background pollution and the number of ageing vehicles on streets.

Hong Kong environmentalists renewed their calls for the immediate introduction of new air quality objectives. They said the government had deliberately delayed their introduction to ease the way for major infrastructure projects.

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Tags: air pollution, Hong Kong, Environmental Protection Department, Pearl River Delta