GoKunming Forums

Air Quality!!! Kunming Not So Good.

Peter99 (1246 posts) • -4
Comment hidden by user downvote Click to expand

@A

I dont know, since I dont buy the statistics. Maybe it was, Kunming probably didnt resemble a Chaplin movie today.

dolphin (509 posts) • -2

Am I the only one who thinks it's childish and petty and stupid for someone to live in a place for many years, and then move away and taunt people that still live there?

nnoble (889 posts) • -1

I was listening to Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) while browsing through these posts this morning. 'All the lonely people........' Seemed apt.

Lady Leah (2 posts) • 0

How is the air quality this year? Is it safe for young kids (ages 0-7)? We're "considering" moving there.

Thanks so much!

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

China is getting better, but still considering EU or US standards it is pretty poor. If kids are asthmatic, then anywhere in China is not good. If you are already in, and committed to China then Kunming is comparatively not so bad. If you are only going to stay for a year or so the long term damage will be limited. If you are serious about health then you need to consider any long term effects of pollution PLUS altitude.

alienew (422 posts) • 0

Tiger, the altitude will have no serious long-term negative effects for the very great majority of people, we're simply not that high, and expanded lung capacity is generally seen as a healthy thing - the physiological limit for acclimatization (beyond which the human body simply cannot modify itself to handle the altitude) is over 5000 meters (although it can still get along for a few months - naturally this requires gradual acclimatization up to this point, and most people probably couldn't do it for even a few months) - but, at 1000 meters, we do not have anything like 1/5 of the problem, as a difference in, say, 100 meters at around 1000 meters is nothing to that of the difference at, say, 2000 or 3000. Personally I feel better here than at sea level, became acclimated long ago to Kunming's altitude (certainly wasn't difficult, I can't even remember it ever being a problem). Note that I've been here 14 years and am in my early 70s, and I grew up at about 300 meters' altitude. Do you know anybody who has developed any real health problems from the altitude here? I don't, though I guess some people with particular lung problems might have.

You're right about air pollution of Chinese cities generally, but there are plenty of cities around the world with worse air pollution than Kunming. Yes, it's worse than it was just a very few years ago, before the cars and rage for construction.
I find it really odd, and a bit amusing, that any foreigners with experience here might feel that daily life in Kunming is somehow dangerous.

OceanOcean (1193 posts) • 0

@Leah
Nowhere is completely safe for young kids. But there are hundreds of thousands of kids already living in Kunming and, apart from the odd extra sniffle or cough, they seem none the worst for wear. At the end of the day, I'd consider crossing the road here much more of a danger than the pollution for my 5 year-old.

Lady Leah (2 posts) • 0

@tigertiger, @alienew, @ocean

Thank you so much for your thoughts! It's great to hear from people who actually live in Kunming instead of just going by what the air pollution apps say. We're currently living in the US but saw a job available in Kunming.

michael2015 (784 posts) • 0

Actually, walking on the sidewalks is dangerous from the F-1 E-bikes rambling down the sidewalks.

Kunming looks like a developed city with all the accessories - but the culture and behavior hasn't caught up with responsible operations of the technology.

Related forum threads

Login to post