Rooftop greenery used for air cleanup in Beijing

Citizens in Beijing have taken the city’s air quality into their own hands by planting more greenery on their rooftops.

The government is also getting in on the air cleanup action, announcing recently that it plans to cover 100,000 square metres of roof with greenery by the end of this year.

The horticultural plans come after the city recently started to record their PM2.5 levels, administering significant plans to try and degrade and dilute the particules.

Tan Tianying, president of Beijing Green Roof Association, said: "If the city can make better use of building facades and rooftops for greening the environment, or add to the vertical landscape, carbon dioxide can also be greatly reduced."

Green rooftops will therefore act as filters for pollutants entering the atmosphere, filtering carbon dioxide from the air and reducing the number of small particles that are harmful to human health. The particles have been found to be more of a risk than the PM10 particles, which were recorded in the city previously.

They can cause respiratory symptoms, decreased lung function and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

This idea of ‘living roofs’ could help reduce the amount of PM2.5 particles in the air, by partially or completely covering rooftops with vegetation planted over a waterproofing membrane.

Posted by Claire Manning