New Chinese Study warns of Shortage of Oxygen in Big Cities around World

A Chinese scientific team discovered the dangers of a shortage of oxygen in the big cities around the world.

Findings of the study conducted by the team stir fears about the health of the population and possibilities of sustainable development in these cities.

The team comprised a number of professors at Lánzhōu University in China.

They measured and verified levels of oxygen in 391 cities peopled with more than one million people around the world.

The experts analyzed the indicators of producing oxygen compared to consuming it in these cities.

Dr. Huang Jian Ping, head of the team from the Faculty of Atmosphere Sciences at the university, said findings of the study show that the urban areas in the world cover about 3,8% of the whole area of the planet but they consume more than 39% of the oxygen of the earth over the years from 2001 to 2015.

Estimates point out 75% of the cities that house above 5 million people has indicators over 100.

The study also uncovers that a higher density of population and more urbanization increase consumption of natural resources and deteriorate the ecological system.

Dr. Huang added that it is worth mentioning that people who live in megacities with higher indicators of oxygen may be susceptible to a shortage of vital gas in very calm weather.

He warns that an environment with a severe shortage of oxygen levels, in the long run, will bring complicated harm to populations of the urban areas.

He stresses that absence of high rates of oxygen may lead to repeating waves of heat and draining sources of freshwater.

The study was published on pages of the Magazine of Environmental Sciences and technologies according to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese official agency.

Over the recent years, China became one of the worst pollution-stricken countries in the world as a result of the fast pace of industrialization.