Tag: Quality of life

The Story: A recent paper in Nature Reviews, a peer reviewed science publication, looks at the issue of the economics of dialysis, a standard treatment...

The drop, attributed mainly to the city’s high levels of pollution, handling of last year’s Typhoon Mangkhut, and vulnerability to health crises, also puts Hong Kong 40 places behind Singapore, which has been ranked first for 17 years running. The study by ECA International, which was released on Tuesday, covered roughly 480 locations around the world. Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, said one of the reasons for Hong Kong’s fall was the pollution in the city. Hong Kong got its highest average annual concentrations of hazardous ozone in nearly two decades last year, at 52 micrograms per cubic metre. Moreover, Typhoon Mangkhut also contributed to the drop. The typhoon was the most powerful in the city since records began in 1946, requiring a typhoon signal No 10 to stay in place for 10 hours. However, some 1,500 trees were knocked down, and up to 500 windows broken. Even so, Quane noted the disruption it caused to people’s ability to live and work, which would not happen in Singapore. He cited Hong Kong’s seasonal influenza outbreaks, which recently led to all kindergartens and child care centres being closed for a week ahead of schedule for the Lunar New Year holiday. He suggested congestion charges to discourage people from owning and driving cars, and requiring public transport operators to upgrade to less polluting vehicles.