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living in Dali and alternatives

Chengdu1 (5 posts) • 0

My friends, I was in Kunming at 11.th February and went to 1903 to have dinner about 18:30. Everything was fine, air quality is about 50 something which is quite good for China. After the dinner, we went outside from the restaurant and I saw a heavy air pollution , jump to over 150 later around 200. The next day around 8am, AQI was turned to fine but the same night was jumped to 180 after 22:00 o'clock. Yesterday night reached to over 200 till this morning there was heavy pollution again. Since in one hour time, the AQI is dramatically changed with a very short period of time, I am wondering there is a very big source or sources cause high air pollution. Since last 3 nights it happened and day time it was turned to clean I do not think it is because of any fire around Kunming. In fact, I really like Kunming so much, but disappointed because of last 3 days pollution. I am still watching if this pollution is for a short period such as less then 7 days / mo. Because here in Chengdu, air pollution is very stable always around 150 to 200 in winter and we almost never see the sun or a blue sky.

Chengdu1 (5 posts) • 0

I am seriously asking if anyone can tell me if Kunming's air quality is good to live. Does anyone has AQI historical data for Kunming?

We have 4 yo daughter and I want to move from Chengdu to a better AQI side of China ASAP. We have concern about our health.

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +1

Again, this is temporary due to controlled burning in the next county. Generally the air has improved a lot over the last 2 years.
If you are really worried about long term health, then you need to consider the combined effect with altitude as well.

Weather wise, we do get far more sunshine days than Chengdu. Less rain too.

Traffic is getting worse and worse in Kunming, and there are parts of the city near the 2nd ring road that are not good during peak travel times. But any tier 1 or tier 2 city will suffer thus.

herenow (357 posts) • +1

@Chengdu1: In terms of subjective experience, the air here seems no worse to me than in major Western cities where I have lived. But other folks on here obviously have a more critical take, so you will have to draw your own conclusions.

As far as data covering some span of time, the most recent I have seen is a 2015 China Daily article about a government report which named Kunming as one of eight cities in China that met all national air quality standards over the course of a year: www.chinadaily.com.cn/[...]

In general, there tends to be more pollution in the northern part of the city and less in the south, especially as you get close to the lake.

jj123 (99 posts) • 0

@chengdu1

There already have been answers for the recent spike in the bad aqi.

If you serious about leaving CD because of the pollution, then simply start following the weather and aqi reports daily for whatever place(s) you desire to go.
Like some have posted, most big cities will have this problem, at least from time to time.
But Climate and jobs may also be a concern, yes?

BJ has many good aqi days, Kanding is usually very good, Hainan will be very good...

Part of this topic is subjective, just start doing daily research and you will figure out what areas may be best considering your needs or wants.

cloudtrapezer (756 posts) • +1

Xiamen is a good choice. Air is clean and there's great seafood.

Ishmael (462 posts) • -2

How many posters contribute unnecessarily to Kunming's, or Dali's, air pollution?

cloudtrapezer (756 posts) • 0

The smoky old diesel buses have disappeared from Kunming over the past couple of years. That's gotta help. And there's no tuktuks or motorbikes that pollute cities in Vietnam and Thailand. Most of the visible pollution I see is dust from construction ... at least that's what covers my balcony. I guess the cars don't help but European cities have more cars yet air pollution is not as bad according to the figures. Anyone know the main sources of air pollution in Kunming?

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +1

The traffic density in Chinese cities is often higher than European cities. Car ownership levels in China are not as high as Europe, but in the cities it may have surpassed Europe. The population densities of Chinese cities is 3x that of European cities and so if car ownership was at the same levels as Europe, the problem would be magnified. Currently where I live, the average is family owns more than one car; some have 4.
Diesel fuel in China is not as clean as in Europe, couple that with the fact that many 'dirty diesel' vehicles are still operating here. They were outlawed in Europe back in the 1970s.

Although there is a breeze coming off the lake, that refreshes the air in the south of Kunming, the displaced dirty air is then trapped by the mountains to the north and west of the city, concentrating the problem there.

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • +1

Xiamen has bloody fantastic sea food. They do a spring roll that is steamed, not fried, and about 2" in diameter. Delicious too.

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