Shanghai'd

Air Quality.

I knew the recent string of clear, blue skies in Shanghai was in no way ordinary. So it came as no big surprise to read today's Shanghai Daily article which in fact confirmed a record-setting 58 straight days of "good to excellent" kong qi zhi liang. Before experiencing this pleasantly unexpected weather in person, I always assumed that pictures like this one below of Shanghai's skyline were Photoshopped versions of some dreary, grey-skied original used to lure blissfully ignorant tourists to the city.



I take news of this weather with mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm ecstatic to once again be enjoying clear, sunny days and starry nights (yes, we've actually been able to see the moon and even a few stars lately). It makes my entire outlook better - I run outside again, I don't need to wear a surgical mask when riding to and from work ... vitamin D does a body good. On the other hand, it's depressing. If these days have been recording setting, chances are it's only going to get worse for the rest of our time in Shanghai.

Taking a broader view, it's sad that the environmental conditions in China (and the US for that matter) have gotten so bad that a blue sky has come to be treated as a welcome anomaly, and not the norm. I think about how life here would be if you could reliably breath the air, safely drink the water, and not have to worry about the mercury, pesticides and who knows what else is ingested at every meal. Maybe I'd just take it all for granted ... but for now, I'm definitely not going to, at least not for another 58 days.