Industrialization in Asian countries, mostly in China has been stupendous in the recent years. Along with industrialization, there has been a rapid growth in GDP and pollution. No country in the world can match the growth that China has shown. China has sustained its industrialization by investing one half of its GDP in industrialization, where most countries of the world cannot invest more than one third of its national income and be productive as China.
Air pollution in China
China has been recognized as the world’s highest emitter of greenhouse gases. It has surpassed the United States since 2006. So now, the United States is no longer the main reason for causing global warming.
Although it takes some blame and weight off the shoulders of the United States, it is still the responsibility of all people of the world to sit and decide how we can address the pollution issues. No matter which country is responsible, it affects the globe equally on sustainable issues because all countries of the world share the same atmosphere and are equally affected by pollution.
China relies on coal for 70% of its energy needs, and so, it has the highest amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere. China is one of the top most countries in Asia to be industrialized rapidly. To support the industries, factories and plants in China, a significant amount of energy is needed. China uses coal as its major fuel for the power plants, which is one of the dirtiest fossils available. China has become the leading consumer of coal in the world and also a leading greenhouse gas producing country of the world.
How air pollution from China affects the globe
Recently, as a byproduct of rapid industrialization in China, the air pollution has grown to an alarming situation, and the environmentalists including scientists from around the world have been warning that the pollution and smoke from China is affecting the global environment, climate patterns cloud formation and global weather systems. According to a CBS news correspondent John Blackstone, “those Chinese emissions are having a big impact in the U.S.”
The air pollution in China is so bad that a thick layer of fog can be seen over the city of Beijing. Although the Chinese officials insist that this thick cloud is just fog, tests taken at the U.S. embassy at Beijing confirms that the air quality in China is at dangerous levels. Kim Prather of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said, “It’s no longer just their problem; it’s our problem,”.
The smoke clouds from China are affecting the upper layers of atmosphere as well, making the storms, hurricanes and cyclones much stronger. There are far reaching affects on the environment, impacting the cloud formation patterns, precipitation, storm systems and other negative effects on the weather all over the globe including the continent of North America.
Over the last 30 years, China’s economy has been booming through rapid industrialization, and it has been at the cost of their atmosphere. However, the impacts of pollution from China are not only limited over the land of China, but it affects all countries of the world that share the same atmosphere.
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