Shanghai - 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 to bad most days with the occasional miracle great day. You'll get a few air purifiers with regular filter changes. - Nov 2020
Poor air quality. Seasonal allergies. Many locals and long-term expats experience respiratory problems. - Apr 2017
Sucks. - Oct 2016
Mostly goes from unhealthy to very unhealthy (or worse). The air in Shanghai used to be much better. They hit 700 pm2.5 this past year. A record. While Shanghai doesn't have the same high levels of air pollution, they also don't seem the have the winds that clear it out on a more regular basis. - Dec 2014
Not as bad as Beijing, but if you have respiratory problems, it might bother you. I'm not terribly bothered by it, though. - Aug 2014
The air quality is unhealthy most of the time, but not as bad as most other large Chinese cities (Beijing for example). About once a week we will get a gorgeous blue sky day & the rest of the time it's hazy. - Aug 2011
Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Due to the close location by the sea, Shanghai seems to have a pleasant winds that keep the dirty out. However, important to note that Shanghai is now/becoming a "service economy" for the rest of China, and consequently, does not have the detritus of aged industrial facilities close to the residential/corporate core of the city... The pollution is there, but it is MUCH better than Beijing and many other cities. If the 20 Million plus people (I think?) in Shanghai metro can live very well there, you can too. Food safety is a different issue, though. - Dec 2010
Polluted. - Jul 2010
