[OC] Auf der Karte ist zu sehen, dass China große Fortschritte bei der Beseitigung seiner Luftverschmutzung gemacht hat, seine Abhängigkeit von Kohle jedoch dazu führt, dass weite Teile des Landes seine Ziele für saubere Luft nicht erreichen

Is the pollution in the Taklamakan desert a mix of airborne sand/dust combined with gas emissions from the oil and gas extraction that goes on there?

Great, beautiful chart. One small weakness is that it doesn’t give you a sense of the reduction. I believe the PM 2.5 reduction is about 40% over 10 years. Whatever you may feel about China that is a monumental national achievement. Apart from modernisation of the economy, nearly half of the vehicles in China are now electric, and China is leading the way in some renewables particularly solar.

It’s still far from perfect though. I live in one of the southern coastal cities with the lowest pollution in the country, but even that still averages PM2.5 of 20 ug/m3 across the year. For context this is 4x the accepted healthy level and about 2x of the expected air quality in the US. In summer the air quality is excellent where I am. But in winter the PM 2.5 levels can reach 40 ug/m3 (8x the healthy level) and stay elevated for most of autumn and winter. To enjoy the same air that I get in my home country, my house in China is equipped with air purifiers in every room.