At the age of 13, Tan Yi Han could not see the edge of his schoolyard. It was 1998 in Singapore, the wealthy city-state known for its tidy streets and clean, green image. But for much of that particular school year, clouds of smoke shrouded the skyline. The record-setting air pollution, which had begun in 1997 and lasted for months, caused a 30 per cent spike in hospital visits. It would later be remembered as one of South-east Asia\u2019s worst-ever \u201chaze episodes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Haze episodes have occurred in South-east Asia nearly every year since. Back in 1998, and for years afterwards, Tan didn\u2019t think too deeply about them. Yet at some point in his late 20s, he began to wonder: where did the haze come from? And why did it keep coming back?<\/p>\n
Air pollution kills around 7 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), accounting for one in eight deaths worldwide in 2012. The main causes of death were stroke and heart disease, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and respiratory infections among children.<\/p>\n
It is especially bad in the Asia-Pacific region, which has a population of over 4.2 billion and high population density. China and India alone, with a combined population of around 2.7 billion, are both enormous sources and victims of air pollution.<\/p>\n
In 2010, 40 per cent of the world\u2019s premature deaths caused by air pollution were in China, the world\u2019s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, according to a survey published in the\u00a0Lancet<\/em>. The University of Hong Kong\u2019s School of Public Health reported more than 3,000 premature deaths in the city in 2013, and the situation in many mainland Chinese cities is reckoned to be far worse. A poll by the US Pew Research Center found that 47 per cent of Chinese citizens thought air pollution to be a \u201cvery big\u201d problem in 2013 (up from 31 per cent in 2008). It is now a central focus for many Chinese environmental groups and a growing source of anxiety for the country\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\nReference:<\/h4>\n
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