As Hong Kong continues to develop as one of the leading modernist cities of the world, its battle with air pollution and smog is slowly being lost casting huge gray clouds over many of its triumphant skyscrapers.

On the 22nd of March 2010, levels of pollution reached record highs in the city due to changes in wind patterns. Instead of pollution naturally diffusing throughout the skies of Southern China, it was left to build up over Hong Kong and accumulate in its atmosphere. This lead to Environmental Health Officers warning people across the city to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid the inflammation of illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis. Since March, viruses and premature deaths caused by pollution have sadly risen as people continue to ignore the health warnings they are receiving.   

There are two main contributors to air pollution in Hong Kong – factories and motor vehicles.  Along the Hong Kong borders are 70,000 factories which pump out a number of harmful gases everyday. These gases are then carried by the wind across the skies of the city. They then linger in the air above Hong Kong because high rise buildings and skyscrapers trap them, preventing the wind from carrying them any further.
So it seems, the more Hong Kong does to improve its Western lifestyle, the more it is destroying its natural beauty and air quality. Ironically the city is named after the fragrant harbor it once possessed but that is now long gone and replaced by a scent that is some what less appealing