Shanghai's smoggy sunny days.
| News of Beijing’s hazardous air pollution has made headlines around the world. Whilst Shanghai may not be hitting quite the same levels, a ‘hazardous’ warning has been in place for the last week with levels of PM2.5 averaging around 250 micrograms per cubic metre daily. (This measures the amount of particles in the air that can be harmful if breathed in.) The World Health Organisation places 25 micrograms as a safe benchmark. |
| So, needless to say we are way over the limit here in Shanghai. Even as I write this blog during my teaching break, the view from the 33rd floor staff room is of a dense hanging fog, but what actually is smog. According to the weather forecast, it’s a sunny day, but the sun is no where to be seen. Last summer, we had a run of 10 days of spectacularly clear skies with a blue so brilliant that everyone was busy posting photos online. Even at night, the moon and stars shone vividly – a rarity in Shanghai what with the haziness and glaring night lights. | 
Shanghai basking in brillianty blue skies last summer.
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I have firsthand experience of what bad air can do to your health. I have never had breathing issues and my family has no history of respiratory diseases.
My new Shanghai accessories - two asthma pumps, a humidifier and a mouth mask.
| Within a week of moving to Shanghai, my chest was closing up and my breathing wheezy. However, every time I made a trip outside of the city, my condition would normalise. The moment I was back in our downtown apartment, once again I was struggling to take a breath without sounding like I was auditioning for the role of Darth Vader minus the mask. Months went by and I finally went to see a specialist and to my utter surprise I was diagnosed with asthma. I now have to use two asthma pumps and a humidifier to keep my airwaves open on a daily basis. A report by the World Bank listed 16 Chinese cities in their list of the Top 20 most polluted zones around the world. That can’t be good. Stricter pollution control is promised. And I, for one, look forward to ditching my breathing aids for good. |
| One thing I do have to be grateful for is that at least the worst of my asthmatic conditions only really flare up in the evening. I could not imagine having to teach a packed ‘English Corner’ session for 30 plus students (as I do every Friday evening) without having to gasp for air after the end of each sentence. My weekly sessions are lively affair where we gather to discuss any number of topics that I choose to present. Recently, we did one on the top news stories of 2012. Obama’s re-election, Gangnam Style and the spat of public shootings in the US all got a mention. | 
One of the top news stories mentioned by my students - Psy's worldwide hit 'Gangnam Style'.
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The small group of East China Sea islands causing a despute between China and Japan.
| But, by far, the China/Japan dispute over a small group of islands in the East China Sea came out on top. Known as the Diaoyu Islands for the Chinese and the Senkaku Islands for the Japanese, both countries place their claim over the territory. It rather took me back as to how heated people got when students aired their opinions concerning the ongoing issue. At one point, people got so rallied up that I was sure that we were all going to sign our lives away and join The People’s Liberation Army – China’s military force. |
| All this reflected the general sentiments of China at large. Online blogs speak of anti-Japanese feelings and staged protests have taken place as both sides flex their naval force muscles with patrol ships surveying the waters surrounding the islands. Inside the metro, the on-train screens give you daily bulletins covering the islands ever-developing situation. Historians and political analysts voice their opinions. Newspapers keep the momentum going and I even came a across a local bakery which had made a large cake with the words ‘Diao Yu Islands Belong To China!’ Patriotism indeed rides high when a country’s territory, or claim of, is at stake. Here’s hoping to a peaceful resolution. | 
A local bakery bakes a cake with words 'Diaoyu Islands Belong To China!'
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