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China's pollution is bad. It's a huge problem. The air quality in Beijing has even been compared to a nuclear winter. But how does that compare to where you live?


Website Air Pollution in Asia (via Beijing Cream) tracks China's Air Quality Index in real time—as well as in other locations around the world. Thus, it's possible to compare, say, where you live to China—and, in turn, really put into context just how big of a problem pollution is for the country.

Here is a chart from the U.S. Department of State explaining the Air Quality Index:


And from Air Pollution in Asia, this is North America:

Europe:


Let's get a close-up of the United Kingdom and Ireland:


And here is (part of) Australia:


That's some nice air you have Australia! And here is Japan and South Korea:


Let's zoom in on Osaka, where I live:


Better than I would've thought. And what about China? Well, have a look:


And let's zoom in:


There are clearly parts of the country that are less polluted than other parts. But, as Beijing Cream points out, the air quality in Beijing isn't even the worst. Yinchuan apparently hit 999 on the Air Quality Index. Yowzers.

For comparison's sake, here's the entire world:


Air Pollution in Asia [Official Site via Beijing Cream]

Photo: Lintao Zhang/Staff | Getty

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft .

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