We always hear about pollution problems in China. But surely the whole country is covered in smog, right?
Inspired by a map put together by Eli Bildner at Tea Leaf Nation, we've created a map of China's 10 least-polluted cities using the CN Air Quality iPhone app. We've annotated it with the Air Quality Index — which measures sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and particulate matter levels — for each.
The consensus safest locations to avoid respiratory problems appear to be concentrated on the southeastern coast, with a couple key spots in the west.
The pattern seems to cohere with an argument put forward by Jefferies — that pollution is the cost of healthy industrial activity and rising living standards.
Check it out:
And here is the list of American cities with equivalent AQI's, using data listed on USA.com:
