An Environmental Problem in Hong Kong
..., Causeway Bay, etc. This is caused by various reasons. Road transport is the major source of street-level pollution and contributors to smog in urban areas. With the growth of cross-border transport, more than 90% vehicles crossing the border use low grade diesel fuel thus increasing emission. With fast economic development, continuous reclamation e.g. Wan Chai, Central and construction projects create suspended particulates in the atmosphere. Besides, vehicles, industry and power plants in the Pearl River Delta create pollutants which spread to Hong Kong by means of wind. It is intensified when weather is dry and there is calm condition. In addition, tall buildings make it difficult for polluted air to disperse while heat island effect traps fine particulates. These encourage the formation of smog. To solve the problem, the HKSAR government introduces various measures. Stricter law measures e.g. the Air Pollution Control Ordinance are introduced. Air quality monitoring stations are set up to test urban air pollution levels. It also adopts strict vehicle emission standards by using unleaded patrol and ultra-low sulphur diesel while provides a one-off grant of $40000 for diesel taxis to be replaced by LPG taxis. $220 billion is...