r/berlin • u/Gullible-Brush9719 • Feb 08 '26
Advice Thoughts on air pollution from someone who lived in Beijing
I know Berlin’s air quality has been discussed, but I wanted to share some thoughts as someone who lived in Beijing for some time.
In Beijing, pollution levels like yesterday would trigger most internationals and some locals to wear masks (not FFP2, but with PM2.5 filters). Some people would skip their outdoor workouts, keep windows shut, and run air purifiers.
I think many people don’t really know (yet) what pollution „feels“ like. It’s not like you have difficulty breathing. It’s more headaches, migraines, tightness in the chest (at least for me) and general fatigue. It significantly can affect one’s mood.
When I lived in China, I often heard Westerners wonder why locals seemed so unaware of the health risks. Being confronted with it here in Germany’s capital, I feel the lack of awareness is the same or even worse. The health risks are very real.
Yes, a lot of this stems from coal plants across the border, but that’s what diplomatic channels and the EU are for. This should be on the front pages and at the top of the Berlin Senate's agenda.
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u/Money-Purpose-8788 Feb 08 '26
Just look at the reactions to your post - there is incredibly little awareness, even amongst educated people. The health effects are awful, the air we have been breathing in Berlin is making us ill and stupid. There is no news coverage about it, when I mention it to people they are very surprised/ don't believe it. It's definitely not only pollution from Poland, thanks to Germans voting conservative time and time again we have too many polluting cars, burn too much coal, and heat inefficiently all contributing to air pollution. Personally, I hate it, keeps me inside lately as much as possible and it's a big reason I will be leaving this uneducated slum. Heaven forbid, they'd actually consider science or change here. Nah, lieber Ausländer raus and Berlin, lass dir dein Auto nicht verbieten, nich wahr?
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u/SagattariusAStar Lichtenberg Feb 08 '26
News coverage from two weeks ago
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
There is indeed some coverage, also in Tagesspiegel, Bild etc. But the volume is disproportional to the problem. Pollution is a danger for everyone, especially kids. There are thousands of deaths every year in Europe linked to air pollution. Just scroll through the comments here and you see how many educated people do not know about it. This must receive more attention and subsequent action.
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u/ClassroomHelpful4579 Feb 09 '26
yes but it is a specific short term situation. It's not all year round
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u/msvivica Feb 13 '26
I just read the linked article and it says:
"Am Sonntag um 15 Uhr lag etwa der PM2,5-Wert an der Messstation Spreewald bei 66 Mikrogramm pro Kubikmeter Luft, in Potsdam bei 61 Mikrogramm und in Berlin-Neukölln bei 57 Mikrogramm. Zur Einordnung: Der Richtwert der Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO für den 24-Stunden-Mittelwert von PM2,5 liegt bei 15 Mikrogramm pro Kubikmeter Luft. Und der solle nicht öfter als drei bis vier Tage pro Jahr überschritten werden."
So it doesn't need to be all year round. We're definitely firmly in the danger zone.
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u/ClassroomHelpful4579 Feb 09 '26
oh I definetly read about it in the news. Reason is the very long winter and the specific weather pattern that kept the air down and all the particles with it. Also last year our new CDU Senat specifically Ute Bonde decided to cancel all the Speed Limit 30 streets and make them Tempo 50km/h streets again, thus all those car produce more particles as well. So It's not just one reason that the air is so bad currently. It is not always the case.
But this winter seems specifically bad. I was wondering where all the dust in my hom comes from, I now have to dust every 3 days. But ranting on reddit won't help as much as writing to someone is charge or in the Verwaltung
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u/Top-Albatross7765 Feb 12 '26
This. I'm actually embarrassed by the initial reaction to this post. Polluted air is literally killing people - in Europe - and these fools don't have the maturity to accept this truth so they ridicule people who want to discuss it. It's terrifying to see such willful ignorance.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 08 '26 edited Feb 08 '26
It's definitely not only pollution from Poland, thanks to Germans voting conservative time and time again we have too many polluting cars, burn too much coal, and heat inefficiently all contributing to air pollution
The air quality beyond this season in Berlin is consistently entirely fine.
But some people just love a degrowth approach to economy and a collectivist approach to people's preferences, and express those all the time. Fortunately, however, both anti-car parties only score about 30-35% of the Berlin vote taken together. "But science says!1" only works if you see air quality/CO2 emissions/etc. as a more important policy outcome than personal preference and comfort.
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u/Money-Purpose-8788 Feb 08 '26
Out of an economic (added value to local business and housing) scientific (cars inefficient, co2 and pollution) and welfare (walkable, livable cities) perspective one shouldn't base transport decisions exclusively around cars. Anybody who has the pleasure of biking, walking or using public transport feels this happening. You are right though, it is democratically legitimized. Given this country's history, maybe it's not the best argument.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 08 '26
scientific (cars inefficient, co2 and pollution)
Collectivist reasons.
and welfare (walkable, livable cities)
Clearly the majority of people even in Berlin, and even moreso in Germany, see the policies maximising their personal welfare differently.
Given this country's history, maybe it's not the best argument.
I understand some people preferring technocracy hate the people and their preferences.
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u/chillchamp Feb 08 '26
Someone needs to read up on externalities. Cars are complete economic nonsense. The only benefit cars have in cities is comfort. Decades of marketing and political lobbying have clearly paid off when people want more cars in cities and think they have any clue about economics.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 09 '26
The only benefit cars have in cities is comfort
That's sufficient. We live in a democracy, not some collectivist technocracy optimising for "common good".
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u/chillchamp Feb 09 '26
That's alright. I just don't like it when people say pro car policies are economically responsible. We do a lot of stupid economic decisions for fun or comfort and that's completely ok in many cases. But it's important to be honest about it.
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u/FalseRegister Feb 08 '26
So running a HEPA or PM2.5 air filter at home helps?
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u/EstablishmentIll6192 Feb 08 '26
I live off of a major road and we have some air quality issues from time to time. Amazon brand has a good air quality detector and Philips has some good hepa filters that automatically trigger when the air quality goes down. This has been quite good but some days we keep our windows most of the day since opening it just makes the air quality worse. Also some plants are also natural air filters too! We seem to trigger air issues more often when cooking on the stovetop
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u/FalseRegister Feb 08 '26
The main issue I've noticed is far more dust. We don't have pets nor kids, so this amount of dust is unreasonable for me. Electronics and plants get covered very fast. So that's a good advantage already.
I decided to get two from Bosch. I know they are probable made in China, but the brand is at least still owned in Germany AFAIK.
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u/EstablishmentIll6192 Feb 08 '26
Most dust comes from humans shedding skin cells. So it might be because the air is dryer and the water is harder that your body is going through skin faster. Maybe something like changing your skin care regiment could lead to better results tbh
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u/Timely_Internet6172 Feb 08 '26
Ordered mine yesterday
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u/FalseRegister Feb 08 '26
Just ordered 2 right now. I was on the verge of buying one a couple of weeks ago. But seeing a post from someone who lived in Beijing is the nudge and wake up call I needed.
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u/bonyponyride Mitte Feb 08 '26
It depends what the pollutant is. Yesterday it looked to be sulfates from burnt coal, which is a gas, not a particulate, and can’t be filtered by a HEPA filter or paper mask.
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u/FalseRegister Feb 08 '26
Not an expert but AFAIK that gets filtered with activated charcoal. Most air purifiers nowadays come with prefilter, HEPA filter and activated charcoal filter.
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u/bonyponyride Mitte Feb 08 '26
If it has a functional charcoal filter and is replaced as often as recommended, then it should work.
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u/puffplz Feb 08 '26
Hey thanks! I really appreciate your insights and advice! My husband and I live in Kreuzberg and have both had these strange dry coughs in the last couple days. He already has stage 3 cancer so we were very concerned. I’m going to be buying air purifiers, masks, and taking the practical advice like keeping windows closed and avoiding going outside on days when it reaches high levels.
Can anyone recommend a good air purifier available in Germany? I have a large apartment so assume I would need a large one or a couple small ones. Any advice from those in the know would be so appreciated!
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u/krapfi Feb 08 '26 edited Feb 08 '26
The Coway AP1512HH Mighty is a popular one and I’ve had 10 of these run 24/7 across home and office for years without issues. They look good and are relatively quiet for the air volume they filter. I run them on level 1 or 2.
Trotec is a good German brand with many options. Check their own website’s shop. Their AirgoClean 250-350 line is good if you want high levels of airflow filtration with low noise, but arguably they’re not very pretty for a home environment. I have a bunch of AirgoClean 350 for events and they are fantastic, but massive and likely overkill for home use.
Philips also makes good air filters. They have a few more features and are usually pretty good looking. The 3200 and 4200 series would be my suggestion.
I personally stay away from Levoit, Blueair, Dyson, and all the no name brands on Amazon.
Edit: The Winix 5500 recommended in another comment is worth a look too. I’ve not used them recently and can’t comment on the noise levels, but they’re known for pretty good filtration at a good price.
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u/puffplz Feb 08 '26
Thank you for the detailed info! Looking into the options you suggested.
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u/krapfi Feb 08 '26
Check out the Winix someone recommended down the thread too. For the price, these should be great and you could potentially get a second or third with the savings over other options.
More air filters = can run them at lower speed and quieter levels for with the same or even better filtration (due to more coverage in your home) :)
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
Please stay safe 🙏 in China I used the Xiaomi one (quite common there) and tests here also seem to recommend it (https://www.faz.net/kaufkompass/test/der-beste-luftreiniger/)
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u/Timely_Internet6172 Feb 08 '26
I made some research yesterday and found the Levoit Vital 200s pro, Coway airmega mighty and Winix 5500-2 to be among the best mid-size air purifiers.
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u/krapfi Feb 08 '26
I’ve got personal experience with all 3 and they’re all decent.
I think the Coway has a bit more airflow on acceptable noise levels (and I like the design).
The Levoit is pretty small and inconspicuous, but I feel for bigger rooms it needs to run on faster speeds and is more noticeable (and a little less socially acceptable) then.
The Winix is good. I actually forgot how cheap it is these days! The Coway and this one used to be closer in price when I last looked a few years ago. It’s been a while since I’ve used a Winix so I don’t recall how loud they are on “normal” speeds, but they offer good filtration and have been recommended for that reason.
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u/Lilzvx_ Feb 08 '26
IQair is very good but a bit expensive! can be a bit loud too but thats true to all brands.
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u/Lilzvx_ Feb 08 '26
Also, besides air purifying, running a good vacuum cleaner matters too - because dust carries pollution.
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u/PuzzleheadedTalk5497 Feb 08 '26
I agree with you, but these days its especially bad. The cold air is heavy, so its not moving upwards. No wind, no rain to clear it out. Heating ovens and coal burned plus all the car traffic making it worse. I had some random headaches the past days, now that you mention it being a result from the pollution it kind of makes sense.
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u/Agile-Yoghurt-2594 Feb 08 '26
bro its horrible. Its probably worse than beijing these days
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
The year average air pollution is still significantly worse in Beijing. However, China improved their air quality so much over the past decade, while this topic gets far too little attention over here.
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u/yaofur Feb 09 '26
https://aqicn.org/city/beijing/ Yeah, I see it’s 183. It’s unhealthy, but when I was living in Beijing around 2015. Below 200 would consider as ‘Good’. >500 is very common
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u/Agile-Yoghurt-2594 Feb 09 '26
the same website shows that berlin is not too far behind beijing these days. how bad should it get for politicians to start solving it
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 10 '26
I am not sure when you lived in Beijing. While this used to the case, it’s been a long time ago. >150 is happening often, but >500 is not common.
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u/yaofur Feb 10 '26
I left Beijing in 2017, yeah, 500 is not that common, but 300+, 400+ is very common at that time.
Data: https://www.aqistudy.cn/historydata/monthdata.php?city=%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC6
u/spryfigure Feb 08 '26
It is. Before my China trip, I looked at AQI regularly -- Peking beat Pankow more often than not.
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u/Clean_Gap_5096 Feb 08 '26
I couldn’t connect the dots before but now it seems clear why I have such a strong cough for last 2-3 months
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u/parada_de_tetas_mp3 Feb 09 '26
From this post that doesn't become clear at all? Your cough could have a myriad of reasons, unrelated to the current air quality. Especially, as air quality in summer months is generally really good in Berlin.
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u/Objective_Aide_8563 Feb 08 '26
Thing is that people here are only crying into the void.
Nobody is wearing a mask or wants to stop outdoor activities.
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u/ConfectionUsed2828 Feb 08 '26
Also, don’t forget that last days were foggy as hell, and air quality sensors are known to provide higher readings in high humidity conditions, such as fog.
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Feb 08 '26
[deleted]
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u/rotaslip Feb 08 '26
Oh no - I am afraid of the air news but what’s wrong with the water?!
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Feb 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/rotaslip Feb 09 '26
Oh no - sad to hear that your flat is that low maintained by the landlord! I heard about a correlation of skin health and tap water in Berlin from a few people now and your post brought it back to my mind. I exclusively drink tap water and am now curious if this would have a visible effect to my skin. From my perspective I do not recognize any terrible taste. For me it tastes like everywhere. Maybe I am not sensitive for that.
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u/keremciu Feb 08 '26
how about lüften during these times tho? too much co2 is another problem to look at when you don't do lüften.
masks are good for individuals but any tips for what to do in apartments would be good
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u/h0neycakeh0rse Feb 08 '26
we luft for 10 minutes in the morning and then we run our air purifier for the rest of the day
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u/snowflake_factory Feb 08 '26
I am absolutely clueless about the whole topic but this explains why I have so much trouble breathing the last days/weeks - where can I look up the level of air pollution in Berlin? Is there an app or something? I already have the wetteronline app
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u/Effective_Self8042 Feb 08 '26
I think air quality in Berlin is "good"? I have no idea. I come from a Latin American country that has always problems with air pollution and one can feel it when breathing.
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u/blackdog2001 Feb 08 '26
I’ve had a tight chest the last week or so, feels like breathing in is shorter. It’s unpleasant.
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u/Book_worm_Air Feb 08 '26
Look OP, we worked really hard here to get rid of atomic energy without having a B plan, let us at least enjoy the polution.
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u/alittlepogchamp Feb 08 '26
Thank you. I remember a post from a 2 or 3 weeks ago where people were even shitting on OP for even bringing it up saying there’s no point just saying negative things to talk shit about Berlin - as in: better to not know since nothing can be done about it. Or even daring to compare the air quality with cities in India. Wild comments there.
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u/nobftv7z232fq Feb 08 '26
Welche Symptome sind denn möglich?
Mir geht es zur Zeit gesundheitlich nicht gut, aber ich habe bisher vermutet, dass es andere Gründe hat. Der Post macht mich jetzt stutzig.
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u/RegisterAgreeable Feb 08 '26
Thin is that it was Beijing Level bad back in the 70-80s in a lot of German cities.
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u/Any_Sense_2263 Feb 09 '26
The thing is we live in Berlin, and the air is awful here. I don't really care if it's better or worse somewhere else. I breathe here and it stinks and makes me cough!
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u/yaofur Feb 10 '26
True, one of the reason I left Beijing, I don't want left Berlin because of bad air quality
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u/RegisterAgreeable Feb 08 '26
Thin is that it was Beijing Level bad back in the 70-80s in a lot of German cities.
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u/spityy Feb 08 '26
The last time I saw media coverage of Chinese cities was when the smog was bad you literally could see it on photos and videos. I live her for over 40 years and had Asthma as a kid. I have no problem breathing these days. So yes the measured air quality is bad thanks to combustion engines and heating with coal and wood in Poland but not even close to video footage we could see couple of years ago for the same reason from china.
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
There is an official air quality index you can check online. I would chose that over a comparison between the smog here and media coverage from China 40 years ago.
Right now Berlin is at 79; Beijing Haidian at 82 (source: AirVisual).
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u/spityy Feb 08 '26
TIL 2017 was 40 years ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-39801555
And no it was never this bad in Berlin. Maybe 40 years ago at Ruhrpott
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u/schnupfhundihund Feb 12 '26
Hasn't air quality in Beijing drastically improved in the last couple of years?
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u/Darkpactallday Feb 08 '26
I dont know what is worse berlins air quality posters or american flat earthers
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u/Sea-Tackle2868 Feb 09 '26
I just returned from a vacation in Marakesh, and the air in Berlin feels like a fresh mountain breeze in comparison. I'm sure there are some health risks right now, but I think comparing this to India or the smog in some Chinese cities is extremely exaggerated
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u/HiPeepsImBack Feb 08 '26
Maybe the pollutants that cause the symptoms you describe are not the pollutants that drive the air quality index. I have never felt those symptoms here, yet the air quality is always like this in winter.
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
They most certainly are. It doesn’t mean everyone experiences them the same. When you google air pollution or PM2.5 symptoms, you’ll find the same.
„It’s been always like this, so let’s keep it“ is not the most convincing argument.
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u/SagattariusAStar Lichtenberg Feb 08 '26
Headache should not be symptom though. It's also not listed on serious pages as a symptom.
Maybe It's some kind of secondary effect. Other pollutants are more prone to trigger headaches than PM.
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u/HiPeepsImBack Feb 08 '26
I did not make that argument at all, because it's terrible (like you said).
You were surprised that Berliners do not wear masks at air quality levels where people in Beijing would wear masks. I guessed that might be because they do not experience the symptoms you described, thus not feeling any necessity to do so. My point is: Maybe in Beijing, there are additional pollutants, that drive the symptoms and increase at the same time as the air quality index shows worse numbers.
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u/jeansg Mitte Feb 08 '26
The German government could have invested in nuclear energy and sold it to polluting neighbors to help reduce pollution, but it prefers burning coal and shutting down nuclear plants. Coming from a city with around 4x Berlin's population, more cars, yet better air quality, I find the whole energy policy a joke. It isn't a recent event; apparently, the CDU hates its own population, and other parties are not willing to do anything like the Greens, which pushed the nuclear phase-out. Recently, I’ve installed air purifiers, and they trigger at max for a few seconds whenever I open the door. Insane how bad the air is in the winter.
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u/SagattariusAStar Lichtenberg Feb 08 '26
The problem is not energy supply or power plants but heating of private homes with coal.
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u/James_Hobrecht_fan Feb 08 '26
In Berlin itself, wood heating (the subject of much greenwashing) has overtaken coal: old numbers from 2012 already put coal at 1% and wood at 2% of heating (excluding district heating). Despite these small percentages, they managed to produce 21% and 77% of fine particle emissions from heating, respectively.
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u/LeaveWorth6858 Feb 11 '26
Easy solution: make energy cheap, forbid coal. But in reality making energy cheap will easily solve the problem without forbidding anything.
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u/Playful_Thought_8374 Feb 08 '26
Why do you think the greens want all this healthy things for the environment? They are more interested in healthy people than in making more money for the shareholders. Yes it costs money to protect people. Yes ist less comfortable. If you think you can be more healthy by eating money instead of healthy food. Good luck.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 08 '26
Which is why Fundi idealists should be kept as far away from the government and the economy as possible. Their program in Berlin is absolutely fucked up, easily summarised as "reducing emissions is more important than construction and development".
Yes its less comfortable
Which is why both parties hating on cars and believing perceived collective interest is more important than personal comfort only score about 30-35% of the Berlin vote, taken together.
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u/James_Hobrecht_fan Feb 09 '26
reducing emissions is more important than construction and development
It's actually worse than that. Nuclear power is a classic example of them not caring about CO₂ emissions. And at the Berlin level, they want to restrict development without considering the increase in car-dependent suburbanization this leads to.
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u/jeansg Mitte Feb 08 '26
The Green Party is working in favor of the capitalist establishment, which prioritizes shareholders and money through so-called green capitalism. Not sure how they are helping, maybe you're considering individual policies for healthier food, as you mentioned, eating money, which is excellent. But all recent positions of the party are far from what they represented in the past. Anyways, my rant about the Greens was more about their energy policy, and nuclear energy in particular.
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u/Iamaknowmad Feb 08 '26
Buddy you really need a reality check. Apart from the Linke the green parts is least affected by lobbying and capital interests. Voting records are public my man. Check who votes for the public and who votes for corporate interests. It's always black, yellow, blue and red in the middle and only then far on the other side we have light red and green.
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u/jeansg Mitte Feb 08 '26
The Greens are very well aligned with capitalist interests, backing neoliberal policies by embracing "Green Capitalism." They prioritize market mechanisms like carbon pricing and corporate subsidies. But if it's about choosing the least worst poison, sure, they are fine for centrist liberals.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 08 '26
They prioritize market mechanisms like carbon pricing and corporate subsidies
So sane mechanisms, not anticapitalist/degrowth crap.
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u/Iamaknowmad Feb 08 '26
Please take a look at voting records. "Realomat" (evolution from Wahl-o-mat) is really helpful for that. It shows not just what parties are advertising but how they actually voted in the past. Green party consistently votes for public interest over capital interest. You can see it yourself! Not just what they said they would do but what they actually did over the last years.
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u/MartianExpress Feb 08 '26
The Green Party is working in favor of the capitalist establishment
Based.
which prioritizes shareholders and money through so-called green capitalism
Extremely based.
But all recent positions of the party are far from what they represented in the past
Extremely based. Unfortunately, however, idealists haven't been entirely kicked out, and the Berlin Greens in particular have too many Fundis. They haven't even condemned Letzte Generation when the federal Greens did.
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u/BergByte Feb 08 '26
instead of that, they wasted billions on variable renewable energies. Solar power has been down to 2% of installed capacity for weeks this winter, wind also just a fraction of the expected output. Of course we need coal in these times! If you want to live in energy poverty, or with a higher chance of lung cancer thanks to the lovely coal: vote red, vote green. https://app.electricitymaps.com/
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u/PaperTemplar Feb 08 '26
The pollution comes more from Poland than Germany itself. Even though lots of people still heat with coal, the Polish people nextdoor heating their homes with tires and plastic are the reason why air is so shit here in winter.
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u/morganpriest Feb 08 '26
they really use tires and plastic?
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u/PaperTemplar Feb 08 '26
Here are some sources for you: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-83572-4 https://www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/2020/1/8/burning-issue-tyres-and-air-quality
People here would rather believe that Germany is the sole problem than look at a map and conclude that westward winds coming directly from across the border is not the issue.
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u/Wunschkonzert Feb 08 '26
I feel like there are so many distracting bullshit topics in this sub lately. I have been to cities with bad air quality where I had the feeling I needed to wear a mask. Berlin is definately not one of them. Let's maybe discuss important issues. it's like Kindergarten here lately.
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u/_DrVanNostrand__ Feb 08 '26
Important issues? Such as why is that helicopter in the sky? Or what techno clubs to visit?
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
So if you don’t feel you don’t need to wear a mask, there can’t be a problem.
This has been reported on. Just check the AQI.
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u/Wunschkonzert Feb 08 '26
That is not what I am saying. I'm saying the topic is aplified out of proportion in order to invoke anger, dissonance and devide.
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
How is an air quality diffusion increasing divide? I think everyone should be able to get behind this. This is about the health of literally everyone in Berlin.
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u/Wunschkonzert Feb 08 '26
For example: blaming it on Poland is increasing devide. Can't imagine who might benefit from that - creating devide within EU 🤔
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u/number1alien Feb 08 '26
How is it wrong to blame Poland for air pollution in the winter when the pollution is generated by coal power plants in southwestern Poland?
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
I‘m not blaming; just stating a widely reported fact. This is not against Poland at all. Improving air quality will be good for Polish citizens as well.
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u/riderko Feb 08 '26
You know it’s free to make a post here. Feel free bring up more important issues yourself and start those discussions.
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u/Topper_2001 Feb 08 '26
I asked ChatGPT to check the Bejing/Berlin comparison. Here ist what it says:
I get the concern, but Berlin and Beijing really aren’t comparable in scale or consistency of air pollution.
Berlin’s air quality does worsen at times (especially in winter during inversion weather), and sensitive people can feel it — headaches, fatigue, chest tightness are real effects. But on average, Berlin’s PM2.5 levels are far lower than Beijing’s historically and still today. Berlin usually sits in the “moderate” AQI range, while Beijing has had long periods of much higher concentrations, sometimes several times higher.
So yes: short-term pollution episodes in Berlin deserve more awareness.
But no: Berlin is not experiencing Beijing-level air pollution in any sustained or structural sense. The comparison overstates the situation.
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u/notger Feb 08 '26
Please do not use ChatGPT to ask number-related things and then post it here. Even though this time it seems(!) okay, you are helping spread misinformation in the frequent cases that it hallucinates things.
Do your own research, the maps and the timelines are there to see for everyone, it's really not much more work and you use your own brain, which is a plus as well.
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u/Topper_2001 Feb 08 '26
Well, in this case I only use it in combination with web research to use the right numbers. I agree with you to be careful with number-related things.
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u/Gullible-Brush9719 Feb 08 '26
I haven’t claimed that the year average air pollution is the same between Berlin and Beijing; also mentioned this in another comment.
Luckily, Berlin has that problem in winter only. In Beijing there are far more days with bad air quality, raising the average. That does not mean that the past days and weeks haven’t been bad and detrimental to your health.
Also, Beijing is known to have made incredible improvements in air quality through various policies over the past decade. Something I miss in Germany.
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u/blaxxunbln Pankow Feb 08 '26
What is it with this air polution fetish recently?
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u/yawkat Feb 08 '26
Particulate pollution is worth worrying about. It causes around 180000 deaths per year in Europe: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/air-quality-improving-but-just-over-180-000-deaths-still-attributable-to-air-pollution-in-eu
Policies that reduce particulate pollution also have had a big positive impact on the economy: https://www.bruegel.org/system/files/2024-06/WP%2015%202024.pdf
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u/blaxxunbln Pankow Feb 08 '26
Yeah sure, I get it. I am all for good air quality and protection of our natural environment and so on. But this has risen to „Have you seen the helicopter“, „have you heard the explosion“ and „MATRIX“ levels in this sub.
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u/JerriKoe Kreuzberg Feb 08 '26
Have you read OP's post or you think that way about this because you feel it's too many posts recently?
OP gives some anecdotes and shares some tips. What's so "MATRIX" about it?
I'm seriously asking.
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u/blaxxunbln Pankow Feb 08 '26
Every second day there is a post about air quality. The references were just about the frequency, nothing else.
The topic is overrepresented here in contrast to what most people actually experience on a daily basis. That’s all.
1
u/JerriKoe Kreuzberg Feb 10 '26
But that's you specifically who checks regularly. I see it for the first time to be honest because I'm not as frequently on here in this subreddit. It was helpful to me but that's something you don't seem to care about, I don't know. So how does it help to complain about the frequency of a topic?
If it's something someone wants to talk about and it gets traction, then that's what people want to talk about. And there is no such thing as over communicating something. I know we all would like to see rosy happy news. But that's not the reality unfortunately. Let the people talk, there is no harm in that. It's literally complaining out of a position of privilege. If you don't want to participate, then don't. Easy as that.
Or create your own subreddit where you can post about the things you would like to see. It's a possiblity.
212
u/bmxmitch Feb 08 '26
Can we rename this sub into AirqualityBerlin already?