Breathing in Shandong is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 101.1 million people across 17 districts in Shandong. The average PM2.5 level is 32.6 µg/m³—6.5× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Overview

Air Pollution in Shandong

Shandong faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 101.1 million across 17 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 32.6µg/m³. That's 6.5 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 541 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Shandong met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 2.7 years longer.

That's 273.0M years of life stolen from 101.1 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Shandong. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Liaocheng
    3.4 years lost
  • 2.Jining
    3.2 years lost
  • 3.Dezhou
    3.1 years lost
  • 4.Heze
    3.1 years lost
  • 5.Zaozhuang
    3 years lost
  • 6.Binzhou
    2.8 years lost
  • 7.Dongying
    2.8 years lost
  • 8.Jinan
    2.8 years lost
  • 9.Tai'an
    2.8 years lost
  • 10.Zibo
    2.7 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
0%
0
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
2.9%
2.9M
25-35 µg/m³
64.2%
64.9M
> 35 µg/m³
32.9%
33.3M
Districts

All 17 Districts in Shandong

Complete air quality data for every district in Shandong, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Linyi10.6M
31.6
2.6 years
Weifang9.7M
31.9
2.6 years
Qingdao9.1M
26.6
2.1 years
Heze8.8M
36.5
3.1 years
Jining7.4M
37.3
3.2 years
Yantai7.3M
25.4
2.0 years
Jinan7.3M
33.7
2.8 years
Liaocheng6.1M
39.3
3.4 years
Dezhou5.9M
37.1
3.1 years
Tai'an5.8M
33.6
2.8 years
Zibo5.3M
33.0
2.7 years
Zaozhuang5.1M
35.3
3.0 years
Binzhou3.5M
34.0
2.8 years
Rizhao2.9M
27.1
2.2 years
Weihai2.9M
20.2
1.5 years
Dongying2.1M
33.9
2.8 years
Laiwu1.3M
32.5
2.7 years

Showing 17 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.