Macao saw a marked increase in days deemed to have “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” air quality last year, according to a new report published by the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials SMG).
There were 34 “unhealthy” days recorded by the Ka-Ho monitoring station in 2024, compared with 25 such days the year prior – a 36 percent increase, the report showed. It also clocked two “very unhealthy” days, none of which were experienced in 2023.
While the number of “good” days increased by 10 last year, to 149, the number of “moderate” days fell from 201 to 181 over the same period.
Data from the Ka-Ho monitoring station showed air quality there has been deteriorating since 2021, when just 10 “unhealthy” days were recorded.
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The Covid-19 pandemic was a boon for air quality worldwide and locally, with social distancing leading to a pause in industrial activity and restrictions on vehicle movements.
Macao has yet to return the number of “unhealthy” days recorded in pre-pandemic 2019, when 48 such days were recorded at the Ka-Ho’s station, along with five “very unhealthy” days.
Ka-Ho, located in Coloane near the southern tip of the airport, clocked the most “unhealthy” days and the only “very unhealthy” days of 2024. The least “unhealthy” days were experienced at a station on the Macao Peninsula, which recorded 15 – still more than double the seven it recorded in 2023.
Last year saw four of the city’s six stations more than double their numbers of “unhealthy” days.
