News & Stories

Prof. WANG Zhe, Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)’s Division of Environment and Sustainability, has collaborated with international scientists and revealed the significant roles of anthropogenic low-volatility organic vapors on the secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formation in four megacities in China, providing new insights for effectively mitigating the urban air pollution issues.

HKUST Institute for the Environment (HKUST-IENV) today released the “PRAISE-HK-EXP App” – a new mobile app that help users analyze their personal air pollution exposure budget, from outdoor, indoor, to different micro-environments including various modes of transportation, so that they can better manage their exposure to air pollution in different micro-environments. Thanks for the HSBC 150th Anniversary Charity Program, the PRAISE-HK system has three major release milestones for the mobile app:

Surgical masks are effective in blocking airborne carcinogens, reducing cancer risks such as lung cancer and leukemia.

A robotic fish collects microplastics samples to help alleviating marine pollution

The rapid spread of COVID-19 is a global public health challenge. To prevent the escalation of its transmission, China locked down one-third of its cities and strictly restricted personal mobility and economic activities. Using timely and comprehensive air quality data in China, we show that these counter-COVID-19 measures led to a remarkable improvement in air quality. Within weeks, the Air Quality Index and PM2.5 concentrations were brought down by 25%. The effects are larger in colder, richer, and more industrialized cities. We estimate that such improvement would avert 24,000 to 36,000 premature deaths from air pollution on a monthly basis.

A team of researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) estimated that about 24,000 to 36,000 early mortality cases caused by air pollution may have been delayed due to Mainland China’s earlier mobility-restriction management (city lockdown*) to curb the spread of COVID-19, as such measures have brought down the amount of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) at lockdown cities by a notably 25 per cent year-on-year during the first two months of this year -  significantly elevated the region’s air quality.

Air pollution is a major environmental and health concern in Hong Kong and the largest environmental health risk, according to the World Health Organization, tying it to seven million premature deaths globally in 2016. Yet many of us accept it as part of city living. In a bid to help city dwellers take their health into their own hands, HKUST's Institute for the Environment recently launched a game-changing mobile app that lets users monitor air quality to reduce their exposure to air pollution. Titled PRAISE-HK (Personalized Real-time Air-quality Informatics System for Exposure), the app provides real-time air quality and health risk information and forecasts, down to the street you are at, up to two days in advance, helping Hongkongers live a smarter and healthier life. One of the world-leading technologies behind the app is our dynamic transport modeling.