Thursday 27 October 2011

Jane's story

"When I moved back to NZ after living for 14 years in the UK, I initially found the Auckland air quality much cleaner than I had experienced in London. However, my daughter, aged 5, developed asthma after arriving in Auckland, she had never suffered from this condition before.

We then spent 6 years living in Waiheke Island. On returning to Auckland in 2008 I really noticed the poor air quality. Compared to Waiheke it felt heavy and dense, living close to the CBD made this more apparent. I especially noticed this when running or walking my lungs felt laboured and polluted with every breath.I was saddened to recently read that the figures in July reported that more than 700 Aucklanders die from air pollution every year."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5690388/Auckland-air-worse-than-Sydneys

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Jonathan's story

"When I get off the train to get to work, it releases a huge cloud of diesel fumes. I can feel it in my lungs, hurting my system. There is also a childcare centre right next to the train station. The city council should be protecting us with their public transport systems, not killing us."

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Wagma's story

"In comparison with overseas cities New Zealand air is clear and beautiful to breathe. Auckland has little population compared to these places, but for all that traffic emissions are increasing to higher levels and some days a haze clouds the atmosphere especially over the city. Luckily Auckland is exposed to high winds which leave it haze-free most of the time.

Occasionally the weather patterns trap fog low to the ground and this in turn traps car emissions from escaping into the atmosphere and is a bad look for a city which prides its self on a clean green image. In situations like this feelings tend to be giving rise to depression, sadness, and lethargy. The opposite is true of a beautiful sunshine day when spirits rise, songs flip off your lips and energy is there to burn.

The New Zealand Herald this week showed a picture of a young cyclist wearing a mask to prevent the poisonous gases penetrating his lungs. If he is a frequent traveller on city routes this would be of importance but to a casual visitor would not.
Auckland air has continued to deteriate and needs a clean air programme."

Saturday 22 October 2011

Nico's story

“As an international student from the Philippines, I was actually quite surprised by the sheer cleanliness of Auckland’s air. Compared to my home country, Auckland’s air feels lighter, colder, and fresher while my country’s air feels heavier, hotter, and staler. There are less visible dust particles in the air and, for reasons I can’t explain, it sometimes feels safe enough to take a deep breath even when beside a street like Queen St. I feel that the reason behind this is because New Zealand has more wind, which constantly brings in fresher air from the sea.

The first time I arrived in Auckland, I instantly noticed how clear the city was from my window seat on the plane. It was a good sunny day in Auckland and I still remember thinking to myself, “Wow, so clean!” I noticed that I get sick less often now then in the Philippines. This year alone, I’ve only gotten sick once.

People living in Auckland or New Zealand in general should be grateful that they are blessed with cleaner air that has less harmful effects on themselves and to the Earth.”

Monday 17 October 2011

Stephanie's story

"I’ve lived in Auckland my whole life and to be honest was unaware of the brown smog cloud lingering over the city. I don’t have any breathing or health problems, but I have heard from a lot of people who have come to Auckland city from overseas or from other parts of New Zealand and have developed asthma or get sick of a cold more regularly. This may be due to the humidity, but I’m sure a lot of the trapped pollution beneath the clouds is to blame.

I notice the air at its worst when I’m sitting in or walking past traffic, the smell of dusty fumes is unbearable and I feel like it has some kind of harmful effect on my body, even in just those few minutes."

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Tamara's story

"I have moved from an apartment on Upper Queen Street to suburban Auckland recently and the change in air quality is significant. I was constantly cleaning walls and windows to remove the thin film of grime that came in when the windows were open and now I have to remind myself to wash windows as used to be so much clearer. The combination of air and noise pollution in the city makes the atmosphere seem heavier, there is less light from all the high buildings and this contributes to a sense of weight in the air. I am not sure how much is my own perception through these other factors and how much is due to the air quality.

However, relative to other countries I have lived in Auckland’s overall air quality seems much better. I remember returning to Auckland as a teenager after living in South East Asia and the USA, it was early morning and it seemed like a small miracle to be able to see the silhouettes of buildings and trees in the distance clearly. The stars appeared brighter and more numerous and the place ‘felt’ cleaner. Los Angeles in particular had left me with a gritty sensation in my throat and a feeling of being coated in dirt particles even when I was inside."

Sunday 9 October 2011

Hoyle's story

"Generally, I have not found myself affected by Auckland’s poor air quality too often. Some areas are worse than others. My house is situated near two large areas of native bush so I find the air is pure and clean. However, there was an occasion where I experienced Auckland’s poor air quality when I was walking through the central city on a crisp, still morning recently. Traffic congestion was at its peak and with exposure to exhaust fumes, extractors from businesses and cigarette smoke creeping through the streets, it was enough to leave me feeling dizzy and nauseated. It has been said that up to 80% of our air pollution comes from vehicle emissions, better transport, less air pollution I say."

Monday 3 October 2011

Emma's story


"I find Auckland’s air quality is dependent on location and environment. I have had mostly positive experiences of air and consider it to be clean and fresh majority of the time. I also view our air quality as ‘superior’ to other places and countries. My experiences in other countries have particularly helped cement my thoughts on Auckland's air, for example Bali, Singapore and London are a handful of places I have visited and enjoyed but have had lasting bad memories of the air. Not only did I find the air thick and a little heavy to inhale at times, it often smelt. I am particularly sensitive to smells and so this is something that does not go past me.

Times when I have felt Auckland’s air quality has been less than satisfactory is at the harbour downtown before embarking on a ferry. Having lived on Waiheke Island for 3 years, this is something that I encountered twice daily and always hated it. The air was heavily polluted, stinky and thick, there were also vapors visible to the naked eye from fuel. This is also a similar experience when I go to the airport. Having said that, after arriving back in the country, I always feel pleased to be home and feel lucky over all with our air quality."

Shelley's story: Bad Air not just Bad Housekeeping

"I don't normally notice anything negative about Auckland's air quality but I have noticed the grime on these venetian blinds in an office in Church Street, Onehunga. They are cleaned regularly but they get dirty very quickly.
Church Street is a four lane highway where 300,000 vehicles pass through a week. As Onehunga has a lot of light industry, there are a lot of trucks and heavy vehicles.

Seeing things like this makes you wonder about the levels of pollution you would be exposed to if you worked in this office and the effect it could have on your lungs and general health. Several of my friends have asthma (including the person who works in this office) and sometimes I have suspected dust mites and insufficient vacuuming but perhaps poor air quality is part of the reason for their respiratory difficulties."

September 28, Global report: Auckland's air quality worse than Sydney

In a recent World Health Organisation report on air quality, many New Zealanders were shocked to learn that Auckland’s air quality, measured as a particulate matter rating, was found to be 15pm compared to 12pm in Sydney, 13pm in Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne); cities with much larger populations. Around 20om is thought to be significantly dangerous.

To put these figures in an international perspective, New York rates at 25pm, London at 29pm, Dhaka in Bangledesh at 134 and Iran’s Ahwaz at 372pm. Globally, poor air quality is a major cause of loss of human an non-human life.

The “WHO estimates more than 2 million people die every year from breathing in tiny particles present in indoor and outdoor air pollution. PM10 particles, which are particles of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream, can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections. The WHO air quality guidelines for PM10 is 20 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) as an annual average, but the data released today shows that average PM10 in some cities has reached up to 300 µg/m3.”

(WHO, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/air_pollution_20110926/en/index.html).