Eco-activist Joe Chan Chon Meng, who heads the Macau Green Students Union, said yesterday the city’s poor air quality these days was a warning for residents and the government that a lot of pollutants originate from Macau.
The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) announced on Saturday that the air quality index recorded by monitoring stations in Taipa and Coloane was “very bad”.
On Wednesday, the bureau also said it expected the air quality that night and on Thursday to be “bad”, appealing to those who suffer from respiratory or cardiovascular diseases to avoid participating in outdoor activities.
Speaking to The Macau Post Daily on Thursday in a phone interview, Chan pointed out that as Macau is a coastal city, the air quality was normally worse between the end of winter and early spring every year.
Chan said some people may blame the mainland for affecting Macau’s air quality. However, he said the city’s air pollution was also the result of the increasing number of vehicles and a lack of green spaces.
Chan said: “If the wind is weak, we know [from the poor air quality] that we have actually produced a lot of pollutants.”
Chan also urged the government to strengthen the air quality notification mechanism between the mainland and Macau.
