Roadside air pollution soars, as monitors report improvement
SCMP
Cheung Chi-fai
Has the air we breathe got better or worse? It depends on where you stand. Yesterday, as roadside air pollution rose to the second highest level on record, officials reported a small improvement in air quality in the region in the first half of the year.
With a pall of smog hanging over the city, roadside air pollution worsened steadily throughout the day. By midnight, the index in Central had reached 172, second only to a reading of 174 in 2000. The roadside readings in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok were 142 and 135 respectively. Visibility was also very poor. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) warned people with heart or respiratory conditions to avoid going outdoors, as it does whenever readings exceed 100…
