Air pollution with a high level of PM2.5 forms a haze of smog at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong last year.Chan Longhei/ For China Daily A team of researchers in Hong Kong is working on an application that will draw on artificial intelligence and big data to guide people away from air pollution hot spots, as Sylvia Chang reports. With more than 1,700 deaths blamed on air pollution in the past year, Hong Kong is badly in need of help. It is on its way in the form of an air pollution map produced with artificial intelligence. However, it will take about five years for the application, designed by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, to emerge from the city's miasma of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone. The map, capable of producing real-time readings or predictive analysis, will reveal where concentrations of toxic emissions are, and where they are likely to go. The app will not solve the pollution problem but it will allow people to see what they are getting into, and let them know if it would be better to change their plans. The readings will show the concentration of pollutants right down to the level of the street they are on. Badly polluted air can make outdoor exercise a health hazard, because tiny particles 30 times smaller than a human hair, known as PM2.5, can find their way deep into the lungs. The app will allow someone training for a marathon, children with physical education classes scheduled and people suffering from asthma to check PM2.5 levels and stay away from high concentrations, or even postpone training or going out that day. According to the Hedley Environmental Index designed by the School of Public Health at the university, known as HKU, air pollution was responsible for about 1,780 deaths in Hong Kong in the past year. Like a smartwatch, the system will be able to track a person's fitness and activity level. But, more important, it will also read the air quality and even forecast it for the next hour or next day. That means it will be able to advise individuals about suitable activities based on both air quality and their personal health and fitness. Researchers say it will provide estimates of PM2.5 concentrations for any geographical area in Hong Kong, down to the hectare level. It's like weather reporting, on a real-time basis, to the street level, said Victor Li On-kwok, chair professor of information engineering at the university's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who is leading the team studying the system. silicone wristbandscustom printed wristbandsmake rubber bracelets24 hour bracelets24hr wristbandrubber bracelets cheap
China's Navy aircraft carrier formation sails in the South China Sea, on April 18, 2018. [Photo/VCG] The situation in the South China Sea has stabilized and will remain stable as long as countries outside the region refrain from making troubles, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. China and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will speed up consultation on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of comprehensive and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Wang said during a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi. China believes that a new round of senior officials meetings, which will be held in China at the end of this month, will achieve new progress, Wang said. He emphasized that as long as outside forces stop making waves, consultations on the COC will push forward smoothly. The state councilor noted that China and ASEAN will work out the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 to make medium-and long-term plan for future cooperation. That 2018 is China-ASEAN Innovation Year will provide new driving forces for bilateral relations and their respective development, Wang said. China and ASEAN will also strengthen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN's development plan like the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 to explore new areas for bilateral cooperation, he added. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. In 2003, China became the first country to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN. It was also the first country, in 2002, to sign a free trade agreement with ASEAN and has led other major countries to pay more attention to and accelerate their relations with ASEAN, according to Wang. The ASEAN secretary-general said that China is the most dynamic strategic partner of ASEAN, and the ASEAN Secretariat will play a positive role in deepening the cooperation between both sides in areas like politics, economy and people-to-people exchanges. According to the Commerce Ministry, bilateral trade volume between China and ASEAN reached $514.8 billion last year. China is ASEAN's largest trade partner and ASEAN is China's third-largest trade partner.
