Tackling Air Pollution: Beijing citizen photographs city's air quality for environmental awareness

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An environmentalist based in Beijing has photographed the city's skies and air pollution levels every day since 2013. The man, who's called Zou Yi, says he does this to boost people's awareness of the need to tackle air pollution. Last year, he had more people join in his efforts to get the air and the whole environment clean again. Zheng Yibing has more.

A simple click, and a photo is taken.

For Zou Yi, this has been repeated day after day for over six years. He believes a picture does indeed speak a thousand words when it comes to recording air quality in Beijing.

And when his almost 22-hundred images are put together, the situation is portrayed vividly.

ZOU YI FOUNDER, BEIJING-AIR-NOW "The air pollution control has had its effects, and the trend we can see over the past six years is that it's getting better."

He lists the reasons for this improvement, such as using clean energy, and controlling fuel quality and emissions.

Now, with support from high-tech companies, Zou's turning all these photos into measurable graphs and figures.

ZOU YI FOUNDER, BEIJING-AIR-NOW "The grey strips in the inner cycle refer to the PM 2-point-5 density every day of the year. If we compare those for 2013 and 2018, we find huge differences and changes."

His finding match up with the latest official figures.

Back in 2013, the average PM 2.5 density in Beijing was 89.5 micrograms per square meters, while in 2018, that figure dropped to almost 50. Changes are happening.

ZHENG YIBING BEIJING "Zou Yi said the changes not only happened to the air quality, but also to him, to many people in this city and beyond, who also share the same will to make the environment better."

A campaign called "Environmental Protection at the Fingertip" was set up last May, as a follow up to Zou Yi's efforts.

So far, over 57-thousand pictures have been submitted from 215 cities across China. The pictures are mostly of reports on air and water pollution. Over 34-hundred of them have been confirmed and dealt with by local governments.

MA JUN DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC & ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS "With big data, the pictures and participation of people like Zou Yi will make public oversight more precise and powerful."

These efforts have become part of China's protection of its ecology and environment.

YANG MINGSEN CHINA ECO-CIVILIZATION RESEARCH & PROMOTION ASSOCIATION "What they provide, like data, photos, facts and evaluation, enlightens the public and gives important references to researchers and government decisions."

Zou Yi said he would continue his efforts this year, together with his friends and partners. The path to a clean world is not easy, but he says things can change -- not because a few people have done a lot, but everyone has done a bit. Zheng Yibing, CGTN, Beijing.