Pollution in Eastern China

Pollution in Eastern China. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Aqua satellite observed a heavy pall of pollution (gray pixels) over much of eastern China on February 19, 2003. The haze appears to be particularly thick over the Shaanxi and Henan provinces in the eastern central part of the country. Notice how the pollution tends to “pool” up around mountainous terrain in the higher resolution version of this scene.
The various light brown hues show bare land surface, while the darker browns show vegetated landscapes. A heavy discharge of sediments into the Bo Hai Bay and western Yellow Sea are coloring the surface waters caramel. There are a few red dots in this scene, indicating the locations of active fires.

East China or Eastern China is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China.
An abolished concept, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1961 to 1978 by the Chinese Central Government to include the provinces of (in alphabetical order) Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong and Zhejiang, as well as the municipality of Shanghai. Since the Chinese government claims Taiwan and the few outlying islands of Fujian (Kinmen and Matsu) governed by the Republic of China (Taiwanese government) as its territory, the claimed “Taiwan Province, People’s Republic of China” was once classified in this region

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC