In what I think is the biggest public health advancement in China during my five years here, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BJMEMC) has just started to publish hourly PM2.5 readings on their website at http://zx.bjmemc.com.cn/. You can access the numbers there, and then click on the PM2.5 tag. It’s truly an amazing step, …

On this week’s podcast: amazing victory for public health in China, as PM2.5 will be reported by next week — 4 years ahead of schedule.

One of life’s great mysteries is finally answered: “living in polluted City XYZ is equivalent to smoking how many cigarettes a day?” OK, it’s not on everyone’s top ten, but I’ve been asked that question many times by patients and by the media — and now I know what to tell them: a day in …

Here’s a little dark humor on a “blue sky” day…

We’ve just survived yet another winter night with the US Embassy’s air pollution AQI maxed out “beyond index” over 500, so it’s again a good time to review one of Beijing life’s unfortunate necessities: indoor air purifiers. In our expat world’s never-ending discussion of the best air purifiers, many of you have read my article …

The air is starting to get a hazy shade of winter, and recently I wrote about air pollution masks and where to buy. But people always ask which ones to buy, if any. Last year I wrote about the Totobobo masks, which had a pretty good research study showing a real-world usage efficiency of over …

The most evidence-based official air pollution action plan for schools states that no outdoor activity should be held when the PM2.5 AQI is above 200, with severe restrictions from 150-200.

I’ve been in America for 2 weeks at conventions, and I must admit that I find Boston’s autumn blue skies absolutely thrilling. I’ve literally been oohing and aahing at the deep blue skies, which are radiating the bright orange leaves, crisp green lawn grasses and white picket fences. Life truly is easier to love when …

Since it’s another “emergency conditions” day in Beijing (but not yet crazy bad), I thought it was a good time to list my top posts about air pollution, so here goes: Air Pollution: How Bad Is It, Really? One of this blog’s all-time most popular posts, this lays out the basics and also lists some …

Today marks day four of emergency public health conditions in Beijing, with hazardous air pollution readings above 300 AQI at the US Embassy’s monitor – and I continue to be astonished at the almost total absence of anyone wearing any type of protective mask outside. Every morning I bike past a large group of expat parents …

I’m happy to report that one of my favorite masks for air pollution, the Totobobo mask, is finally available for sale in a local Beijing store. Chris Buckley and his team at Torana Air Cleaners are now selling them; you can read their description about the masks here, and more about their stores here. You …

I’ve discussed many wellness topics on my expat health blog, but the major interest — by far — is air pollution. Beijingers are thirsty for quality information about air quality, especially regarding how could it affect their children. Let’s review the data now and also talk about healthy steps. In terms of health risks, there …