Air Quality/pollution S.W. Taiwan

[tommypizza]

I've heard reports about bad air quality in SW Taiwan...I've never been there but I've lived in S. Vietnam and traveled heaps in Asia.

Can anyone compare SW Taiwan to another area? Anyone have any experience with living in Taiwan?

[McTeacher]

Hi - I lived in Taipei (N Taiwan) for 11 years and didn't worry once about the pollution. Typically, the pollution levels in the south are less than in Taipei. Nothing like the 'air' I am breathing here in China. Ugh

Having said that.... if you are thinking of applying at the same school in S Taiwan that I just did, the pollution is HORRIBLE! I mean it's so bad that kittens die from it. Seriously.

Hope that helps

[PsyGuy]

Id compare Taipei to Bangkok, and I generally here that the air in the South of TW is better than Taipei, so if you have been too and can handle BKK than you can very likely handle the southern parts of TW.

[Helen Back]

When I lived in Taiwan the biggest stink was the 150 motorbikes all revving at the same tome waiting for the red light to turn green. The biggest stink in Koahsiung was the Love River, but I heard they cleaned it up.

Yangminshan national park is right behind Taipei, so is easy to get out and experience a bit of nature.

[bluewhale]

I live in Taiwan.

At the moment the AQI in Kaohsiung is over 150 quite regularly. It stays at around this for about 4 months of the year. During the wet season it is under 100. Some days it is close to 200.

Comparably it is as bad as some cities in China. It is much worse than Bangkok or Saigon.

If you drive a scooter you will get even more health effects and exposure from the air pollution.

I often have a headache, stuffy nose and a cough.

So yeah, the air pollution is bad in winter but probably not bad enough to stop you from coming. Further, there is a significant difference in air quality in the south vs. Taipei. Taipei has much better air quality due to it not being so close to lots oil refineries, coal power plants and other heavy industries.

You can't drink the water down south either due to chemical contaminants.