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Originally Posted by Nyororin
Thinking about it, I have to wonder a bit - how are they taking this data? And where? Because if the air quality in Tokyo is anything like the air quality in Nagoya - there are areas with great crystal clear air, and areas with an abundance of factories that aren`t that great. It varies a LOT with location.
If they are only taking a few samples around the city and averaging them - or (doubtful) taking a single sample somewhere... Then things could look drastically worse or better than reality.
I know the air in my little town is very very clean, as they test the crap out of it every single week or so. There is a trash incinerator nearby, and the deal with the city is that they`ll only allow it to be here if there is NO increase in pollution. This serious testing by the town has had the effect of making everywhere else around be conscious of their pollution... And the air is great at this point.
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some answers to your questions can be found in the column to the right, "about the data".
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Originally Posted by MMM
You are right...population, not population densities.
I ask because without knowing what a "good number" or a "bad number" is, it is hard for me to know what the numbers mean. So Tokyo has less particulate matter than Athens, but a higher population. But is has 7 times the population of Bogota but more particles per 1000.
I am not being lazy when I say it is hard for me to know what these numbers MEAN, as I am not sure what population adds to the equation, besides number of people in "danger". And what is population without population density or the city's actual size?
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i didn't know either what a good or bad number was, but it says in the column to the right that:
The current World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines are annual mean concentrations of 20 micrograms per cubic meter for particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) and 40 micrograms for nitrogen dioxide and daily mean concentrations of 20 micrograms per cubic meter for sulfur dioxide.
concerning the population figure, i don't know, your guess is as good as mine. however, when i made my conclusion i disregarded the population data, since it has no bearing on the question "is japan polluted?". now, air pollution is only one factor to the overall picture, so perhaps someone else can contribute by finding other factors and data for these.