Low awareness in Hong Kong of health risks from bad air quality, green group says
- Survey finds 90 per cent of city residents won’t stop their outdoor activities in face of hazardous levels
Hong Kong residents lack awareness of the health risks associated with poor air quality, despite the growing body of evidence linking such pollution to disease, a local environmental group has argued.
While most knew bad levels affect respiratory and lung health, less than 40 per cent were aware that heart and skin problems and mental health have all been linked to air quality, according to a survey conducted in August by the World Green Organisation.
This lack of awareness could be putting more people at risk, the group said on Monday.
“Almost 90 per cent of people will not stop their outdoor activities when they notice the air quality is not good,” said World Green Organisation founder Dr William Yu Yuen-ping, citing results from a survey of 500 people.
“Hongkongers’ concept of air quality remains 10 years behind,” Yu explained. “It’s about lung and respiratory illnesses, but they need to have a new understanding that the impact of poor air quality is much broader.”
