Air

China's Ministry of Environmental Protection notified 74 cities that they will have to apply the country's new Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB-3095-2012) and publish daily reports the amount of fine particulate matter, less than two microns in diameter (PM2.5), by the end of 2012.

The average monthly concentration of carbon dioxide has topped 400 parts per million in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, the first time this level has been reached in Japan

The move this week by the US Consulate in Shanghai to monitor and publish the level of fine particulate matter, less than two microns in diameter (PM2.5), in the air around its office has caused a certain amount of confusion and consternation among local residents and officials. The US diplomats are in part to blame for this because, although their measurements are no doubt sound, their data presentation in somewhat misleading. Following in the footsteps of the country’s embassy in Beijing, the Shanghai consulate now publishes the concentration of PM2.5 in micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) on an hourly basis and also publishes the average over the previous 24 hours at noon and midnight each day.

Beijing’s environmental authority started publishing daily readings of ozone levels in the air over the weekend, in line with China's new edition of air quality guidelines, according to the Global Times.

On the back of announcing a significant reduction in the carbon-intensity of their operations the Airport Authority Hong Kong and 40 business partners have pledged to make Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) the world's greenest. While a laudable goal this may not be enough to fend off mounting concern among the Hong Kong general public, NGOs and legislators about the environmental conditions in and around the airport, which may ultimately derail plans to add a third runway to HKIA.

Several major Chinese cities have some of the world's highest per capita carbon footprints, a World Bank warned in a new report issued on Thursday. According to a story in the China Daily, greenhouse gas emissions in Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing far exceed those of cities such as Paris, Tokyo, London, Barcelona and Jakarta the report stated. Globally, most urban emissions come from transport, buildings and waste, but these three sectors only account for about 20 percent of China's urban emissions which are driven mainly by industry and power generation, largely because of its reliance on coal for energy.

The Chinese capital will continue to subsidize the scrappage of aging and heavy-diesel vehicles in response to concerns over the city's air pollution, an official with the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau told Xinhua on Tuesday.

China's environmental watchdog says that it will work to promote the prompt disclosure of air quality reports and monitoring results for other types of pollution. The disclosure of information on major pollution sources and radiation levels will also be improved this year, according to a statement from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The ministry also pledged to build an Internet-based environmental information platform by 2015 to facilitate the country's environmental protection drive, it added.

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) has threatened to file a PHP1 billion (USD 23.34 million) class-action suit against Manuel Roxas II, the Transportation and Communications Secretary, if measures to reduce air pollution in Metro Manila are not taken. "The provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 confirms our individual right to breathe clean air. It also provides the legal basis for the filing of a citizen’s suit against those who violates the clean air law," PMA Manila Governor Dr Leo Olarte told Rappler.com. Under the Act government officials who neglect their duties in implementing its provisions may be held liable in a citizen's suit