Beijing city (China)
In recent times there are several countries whose cities breathe polluted air. Barcelona or Madrid are just some of them, but the case of China is especially alarming: according to the World Health Organization (WMO), each year around 1,6 million people die from pollution-related causes.
Interestingly, air quality in this part of the world is determined by dust from the Gobi desert, as revealed by a team of researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, for its acronym in English) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California in San Diego.
For him study, which has been published in the journal »Nature», the scientists combined historical data and computer models. By analyzing the results they were able to discover that the reduction of natural dust that is transported from the Gobi desert in central and northern China causes an increase in smog in eastern China.
Apparently desert dust particles help deflect sunlight. If there are fewer particles, the soil is warmer than usual and the water is colder, which reduces the difference in winter temperature between the sea and the land. This makes the wind blow with less intensity, so the air becomes "stagnant".
Although this is a reduction of only 0,16 kilometers per hour, this change has a major effect on the climate and also the air quality in eastern China. In Beijing they have been waging a war against pollution for three years.
This is a very interesting study, not only for the eastern country, but also for all those who are affected by anthropogenic pollution, as it shows that everything is connected, in some way or another.
Smog is a very serious problem that all governments should take seriously so that citizens can continue to breathe clean air.