Air Pollution: Concern Rising About Health Effects

Abstract

Air pollution in Chinese cities and acidification of soils in broad areas caused by airborne pollutants are big challenges in China. About 90 % of sulfur dioxide comes from the combustion of coal with high sulfur content. Increasing number of cars is another cause of air pollution in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai in terms of ozone and PM 2.5. Air pollutants originating from China are transported to Japanese archipelago by jet stream, and they may cause photochemical smog, high concentration of PM 2.5, and acid deposition in wide area of the country. In the 1990s, Japan used its official development assistance to China for transferring its experience and technology to combat air pollution, but the initiatives shrank in the 2000s due to changing economic and political relation of the countries.