Enjoy The 30-Meter View! Post-World Expo, Smog Engulfs Shanghai & Region

[hatrack]

(Reuters) - A month after China's commercial hub of Shanghai finished its World Expo, with a theme of "better city, better life," the city is setting records for air pollution that some warn could scare off investors. The city suspended work at factories and construction sites and kept vehicles off the streets to ensure clean air for the six-month, multi-billion dollar expo, at which Shanghai presented itself to the world as China's most developed city.

But since the expo ended on October 31, a blanket of brown haze has settled over the city and pollution is more than triple levels of a few weeks earlier. Media, including the state-owned China Daily, have reported that air pollution in November has been the worst for five years. "During the Expo, the government was very conscious about our air quality and wanting to give foreign visitors a good impression," said Lisa Jin, a student at East China Normal University in Shanghai. "But after the Expo they have become lax and do not seem to care about the air quality."

Recent foul smelling air in part of the city, caused by a gas leak at a nearby oil refinery, according to the Shanghai Daily, has compounded the pollution woes. The problem could threaten to scupper the hopes of city officials and residents who proudly see their city as a fast-growing global financial center.

"After the expo, pollution levels have increased phenomenally. This really could be a major limitation in Shanghai's plan to be a global financial hub and attract key business people," said business consultant Nigel Shroff. Shanghai's environmental protection agency, in a statement to Reuters, blamed the pollution on cold weather from the north and said the months of November and December always bring bad air. While an increase in coal burning during the winter, and winter weather patterns, contribute to pollution, industry experts say the resumption of factory work after the expo and the increase in vehicle emissions are the biggest culprits.

EDIT

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AT0W520101130?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

[KT2000]

1. Yes -

SIL has to go there for work and the last time she was anxious to leave because she was getting sick from the smog. She met an American woman who was heading home after a year. She was anxious to see the stars at night again because you can't see them in Shanghai.