ABSTRACT
Background: Ambient (outdoor) air pollution has been
implicated as a major cause of acute cardiovascular and pulmonary illnesses and
increased risk for acute and chronic effects after chronic exposures, including
mortality and morbidity. In 2008, due to persistent health concerns about its
workforce and their dependents, the US Mission in China began monitoring air
quality at the US Embassy in Beijing. Subsequently, monitoring stations were
also established at US consulates at Shanghai (2011), Guangzhou (2011), Chengdu
(2012), and Shenyang (2013). Objectives: To determine whether there have been
definable trends in air quality in these five Chinese cities. Methods: Air
monitoring results from each locale for accumulated PM2.5 particulate matter
were calculated hourly. Accumulated data were organized, culled using a
standardized set of heuristics, and analyzed for trends. Results: China’s
capital city, Beijing, experienced decreased PM2.5 from 2013 through 2015, but
no significant long-term downward trend from 2008 through 2015. Shanghai has
not shown any definable air quality trend since 2012. Chengdu experienced some
improvement in air quality since 2013, but none discernible from 2012 through
2015. Guangzhou had generally better air quality, and a downward trend since
2012. Shenyang experienced increasingly severe air pollution from 2013 through
2015. Conclusion: There appear to have been recent tangible, though modest,
improvements in air quality in three large Chinese cities: Beijing, Chengdu, and
Guangzhou, but no apparent progress in Shanghai, and a worrisome decline in air
quality observed in Shenyang. Despite recent progress, there is a long way to
go before even the cities which show improvement reach Chinese standards.