Beijing citizen photographs polluted sky for six years

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An environmentalist based in Beijing has photographed the city's skies every day since 2013. The man, named Zou Yi, says he does this to boost people's awareness of the need to tackle air pollution.

With a simple click, a photo is taken. For most people, it is just so simple, but for Zou, this has been an important task repeated day after day for over six years.

A Beijing civilian has been photographing the air quality in Beijing with his phone each day for six years. /CGTN photo

He believes a picture does indeed speak a thousand words when it comes to recording air quality in Beijing.

And when his almost 2,200 images are put together, the situation is portrayed vividly.

"Air pollution control has had its effects, and the trend we can see over the past six years is that it's getting better," Zou said.

Some 2,190 photos taken each day in the past six years are grouped for the first time in different ways to show the changes of air quality in Beijing by Zou Yi. They reflect the turning from bad to better, despite some mild reverses. (from left to right and above to bottom are Novembers in the years from 2013 to 2018) /Photo provided by BeijingAirNow

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

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

He uses them to express the PM 2.5 density every single day.

"If we compare those for 2013 and 2018, we find huge differences and changes," he said.

All these photos taken by Zou Yi have been made into measurable graphs and figures. The grey strips in the inner cycle refer to the PM 2.5 density every day of the year. /Photo provided by BeijingAirNow

His findings 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, according to China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Changes are happening.

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 with more activities for the public to protect the environment.

So far, over 57,000 pictures have been submitted from 215 cities across China. The pictures are mostly of reports on air and water pollution. Over 3,400 of them have been confirmed and dealt with by local governments.

Over 57,000 pictures on air or water pollution were submitted by netizens to raise awareness for environment protection. It is part of the efforts by "Environmental Protection at the Fingertip", was set up last May. /Photo provided by Blue Map App

Ma Jun, the man behind this and a friend of Zou Yi, said that when integrated with big data, the pictures and participation of people like Zou Yi will only make public oversight more precise and powerful.

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

Yang Mingsen, an official from China Eco-civilization Research and Promotion Association praised their efforts.

"What they provide, like data, photos, facts and evaluation, enlightens the public and gives important references to researchers and government decisions," Yang said.

Back to Zou Yi, he said that 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 their bit.