Guangzhou - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Moderate for Guangzhou. Definitely not as bad as many other places in China, but not a clear sky paradise here. Many are worried about air affecting health and will opt to wear KN95 masks while outdoors. - Apr 2023
It varies, we have a lot of blue skies, low AQI, but in the winter it can get up to 150 or more. It's way better than Beijing or Shenyang, however. - Aug 2021
Compared to other mega cities in China, Guangzhou has better air quality. However, by any other standard it can get bad, red-zone bad, for weeks at a time. Many people here have health issues related to the air pollution. Get a high quality reusable mask. - May 2019
BAD. It has an impact on health and ability to do exercise outdoors. There are months where there are long stretches of good air, though. - Nov 2018
It's pretty bad, but not near as bad as other places in China. In the summer you can often see some sky. In the winter however, you'll definitely notice it. - Nov 2015
Terrible. Southern China is home to a huge number of factories that are regularly pumping pollutants into both the air and the water. I had a smoker's cough for months after returning to the United States, despite never having smoked a cigarette in my life, and there were widespread problems with severe, recurring headaches, respiratory problems and the like around post. I would be extremely hesitant to expose small children to the air in Guangzhou (or any post in China, really) for a prolonged period of time. Personally, I was aware of the pollution issues before I arrived, but it's easy to underestimate just how severely they can impact your day to day life. - Aug 2014
Very unhealthy. Some days it is as bad as Beijing. I have seen a blueish color in the sky twice in 8 months. I saw a star once, I think. I get ill frequently, and I believe it is because of the air pollution and my new sensitivity to it. - May 2013
It's incredibly bad. In my opinion the pollution is by far the biggest damper on the quality of life here. If you're an outdoorsy type, you may find the inability to do outdoor activities on most days quite annoying. - Apr 2013
The air quality to terrible here, in fact the consulate runs an air monitor app. The air quality is one of the major reasons for the 20% differential. - Jan 2013
Air quality is poor to very poor. Many days you cannot see the tops of buildings, even after a rain storm. - Oct 2011
Pretty bad. It's gotten better since we got here, but for months it was rare to see the sky. There is a lot of pollution from factories. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, which is where much of the manufacturing takes place in China. If it says "Made in China" it was probably made here. There are tons of factories which makes for a lot of pollution. - May 2011
