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Comment by dicomdan | Hacker News Reader

This is great to have another authoritative and trustworthy source of this data.

WHO used to have a really nice map I would often use, but it’s been down ever since China complained that it shows them in bad light. https://maps.who.int/airpollution/

It would consistently show China pollution levels as high which didn’t match the maps distributed by the Chinese government showing lower levels of pollution in the mainland.

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You can thank the European Union (EU) for that, as these are images from EU-owned satellites.

While the European Space Agency is not officially part of the EU, the EU provides the vast majority of funding (93.0%).

One may not live as luxurious of a life in Europe, either by pay or after-tax amounts, but you do get a sense of solidarity and even stability (most of the time--although we have our issues). In the US, the sense of the future is gone, which is toxic.

The EU also has a recovery plan, which is very future-orientated: https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/coronav...

Wrong thread?

The EU funds the Copernicus program, among others, which is managed by the ESA. But it's not the case that the EU provides 93% of ESA's total funding, it provides on the order of 20%[1].

You seem to be quoting the 93% number from the table on Wikpedia[2]. That's not 93% from the EU, it's an aggregate 93% from countries that also happen to be members of the EU.

1. https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/ESA_and_the_EU

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency

Can I get a source on China shutting down the WHO map?

I have a friend who doesn’t believe the WHO is affected by them and this would help my case...

"who air pollution map shut down", "who air pollution map china" and "who air pollution map" turns up no results. It's a green account and their first comment was accusing someone of being a shill, so my bullshit meter is going off.

While I don't disagree with your analysis of the situation, it's worth noting that China has been hiding its pollution levels for a very long time.

I read a few years ago that the locals in Beijing use the pollution numbers posted on the American embassy's web site (recorded on the embassy grounds) because they can count on the Chinese government's numbers being false.

I’m almost more curious to see where this discussion goes.

30 seconds of googling, might be relevant? https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0UV0XS

I'm actually working on something similar now, only the data is sourced from aerial images. I run a startup in this space and we were previously discarding a ton of data because of cloud cover, smog/fog, haze, etc. This is a great application for less useful data, among others (mostly meteorological).

That said, I wouldn't call any early stage startup an "authoritative" source despite my wanting to. Trustworthy for sure, though! Link to the beta is on my profile if you're interested.

OMS WHO

What's whit china and big 3 initial orgs

China is the second most powerful country on the planet and the multilateral orgs are a political field to control just like any other. China (and the US, EU, Russia, etc..) will always work hard to move forward their agenda in these forums.

In some ways that's one of the main purposes of the UN, WHO and all the other institutions; to create a space for dialogue and disagreement that reduces the number of hot conflicts.

> the maps distributed by the Chinese government

Do you have a link or copy to such maps published in recent times? I am curious how blatant is Chinese government.

http://www.mee.gov.cn/ywdt/dfnews/202001/t20200103_756808.sh...

For instance contains a few for Beijing. There are more reports and real time tracker on the site for AQI levels.

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