Relationship Between Economic Growth and Air Pollution in China - Essay Sample

China was the epicentre of Covid19 before it spread to other parts of the world in late 2019. In March 2020, WHO declared covid19 as a global pandemic paving the way for countries to begin taking preventive measures, and China had begun dealing with the virus long before it was declared a global pandemic. The Asian country began locking down its cities, controlling movements and grounding its planes. The Chinese Yuan fell as the Asian share markets grappled with the challenges of the pandemic heightening trade, geopolitics and technology tensions between China and the US (Yao & Crossley, 2020). The daily 24-hour lockdown lasted months, meaning there was no going to work as streets were empty. While these measures were being enforced, the transport, tourism and hotel sectors suffered greatly. The coronavirus slowed down China’s economic growth, hitting hard the world’s second-largest economy. Before the virus that halted all economic activities, air pollution was reported to have been killing more than a million people in China every year (Doyle 2020). Experts gave air pollution as the cause of premature deaths in China due to increased economic activities associated with fuel consumption and release of toxic substances into the atmosphere. Having hit like a global tsunami, coronavirus has disrupted travel, shuttered companies, cut off communities and shake up economic markets. While these effects are destructive, they have led to low energy demands at the same reduced global increase of greenhouse gases and other toxic substances into the atmosphere. China’s industrial output is one of the major culprits as far as emissions are concerned, contributing 55% of the countries air pollution (Mountford, 2020). Since the crisis began in the country late last year, the industrial emissions have since reduced by 15% hence contributing to a national drop of 25% in the emissions that pollute the air (Mountford, 2020). While these numbers were equivalent to six months of experience with the virus, the percentage levels may reduce further when the situation lasts a year or more.

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Doyle (2020) reports that if the economic downturn continues for a year, then premature deaths related to air pollution could fall by 50000 to 100000, which is one of the few positive things about this crisis. This claim was originally made by the Center for International Climate Research of Oslo,s meaning the prediction was made according to credible foundations, parameters, or variables of the study. Because there has been no work, people have been forced to stay at home with the restrictions closely monitored by Chinese government officials. The fight has involved complete lockdown in most Chinese cities affecting industrial works. The arrival of this pandemic has meant that there is reduced demand for coal as well as other fossil fuels used in industries as the plants are closed down(Doyle, 2020). Fewer movements also mean less traffic on the roads, and this applies to China as well as other parts of the world. Fuel wastage in traffic is one of the leading means through which air pollution occurs as cars and diesel engine release dangerous gasses into the atmosphere. That release can take place during gridlocks and on normal-day traffics flows in China’s cities. China is known to be the second-largest economy in the world because of its high, hardworking and industrious population (Mokoena, Ethan, Yu, Shale & Liu, 2019). Asia is highly populated, and Chinese cities and towns are notoriously known for multitudes of people blocking movements of traffic (Khan & Faisal, 2020), translating to more hours spent on roads hence more fuel consumption which in turn reflects a higher contribution of toxic gasses in the atmosphere.

A senior researcher from Oslo’s Center for International Climate Research, Kristin Aunan recognized the possibilities of reduced deaths due to reduced economic activities, and this was due to minimized effects of air pollution. Even though this is a positive aspect to take from the effects of this pandemic, the severity of the coronavirus pandemic cannot be overemphasized as this is the first of its kind since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 which killed about 50 million people worldwide(Mokoena et al., 2019). Air pollution is a serious threat that kills people in the society, especially the vulnerable groups like the elderly. According to a study done in 2018, an estimation of 1.15 and 1.24 million people dies in china every year due to the effects of air pollution alone (Aunan, Ma, Lund & Wang, 2018). The World Health Organization reports that approximately 7 million people die worldwide as a result of complications brought by air pollution(Doyle, 2020). A myriad of studies focused on air pollution and the related deaths in China indicate that metropolitan cities in China contribute significantly to higher mortality rates in China as many develop respiratory-related issues from the exposure to polluted air. While industrialization and urbanization are some of the major economic growth factors in China and other parts of the world, they are the two culprit causes of respiratory problems and deaths in major Chinese cities as well. Developing countries, including China and India, have strived to achieve particular industrialization standards to achieve economic growth and compete on the global stage as far as economic muscle is concerned. While China has achieved its status over the last few years of economic hard work, they have achieved the status of the second-biggest economy in the world after the US (Khan & Naushad, 2020). This achievement has ridden on the back of pollution in many cities in China, and the dire consequences cannot be overemphasized. A study focused on Xi’an China examined the evidence of ambient air pollutants and the related effects on the residents’ respiratory health. Between 2014 and 2016, the respiratory mortality in the city was majorly caused by chronic lower respiratory diseases that resulted in about 870,000 deaths in 2016; this is about 9% of deaths caused by non-communicable disease in China (Mokoena., 2019). The air quality in major cities around the world is continually deteriorating as a result of air pollution encouraged by industrialization, transport and urbanization; and China is not excluded. Mokoena et al., (2019) have also stated that exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone(O3) gasses are collectively responsible for most respiratory-related deaths in the Chinese cities following their efforts to industrialize and urbanize. Since the coronavirus pandemic broke out and spread across other parts of the World, China was the first to be affected, halting all the activities that contribute to air pollution. The WHO has maintained that the 7 million people who lose their lives annually globally due to air pollution causes die because of heart diseases, respiratory infections and lung cancer. Described by the WHO as the most harmful pollution type, PM2.5 contributes to these conditions in China too. These matters have since reduced greatly since the coronavirus pandemic began.

In early March 2020, the European Union’s Earth Observation Program Copernicus indicated that satellite measurements of PM2.5 levels over China had gone down tremendously in February 2020. The reading showed that the particles levels went down by 20 to 30 per cent and thus was lower than the average amount recorded in the same month each of the last three years (2017, 2018 and 2019). According to Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the reduced particles above China as per the satellite images were down to the measures taken to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (CAMS, 2020). In addition to the reasons behind the reduced particles in the air, the Chinese government has been actively involved in many attempts to reduce the same through particular measures. The country has been trying to minimize their gaseous emissions and monitoring the meteorological conditions. Based on the reduced levels of pollutant particles in the air in china due to coronavirus preventive measures, the number of avoidable premature deaths in China will be between 54,000 and 109,000, that is if the levels remain low for a full year(Doyle, 2020); that would be between five and ten per cent reduction of premature deaths resulting from air pollution in China. However, if the economic growth resumes quickly before the one year elapses then there is the possibility that the number will surge again as cities like Beijing would resort back to burning more fossil fuels to stimulate the economy.