by Demetri Sevastopulo, for the Financial Times:
When Beijing residents visit Hong Kong, they sometimes quip that the territory is like a breath of fresh air, especially in winter when the Chinese capital can be bathed in extremely hazardous smog for days on end.
While most Hong Kongers can understand that feeling – having seen countless images of mainland cities wrapped in smog – they are far from happy with their own air quality.
According to the Hedley Environmental Index, compiled by the University of Hong Kong, the territory had 69 clear days – when the levels of five pollutants complied with World Health Organisation guidelines – last year. The pollution cost the economy an estimated HKD40bn ($5bn) in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Hong Kong had all of 69 clear days last year. (AFP)