Posted on 02/10/2020 7:50:47 AM PST by Zhang Fei
High sulphur dioxide levels at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak could be a sign of mass cremations, it has been claimed.
Satellite maps in recent days have shown alarming levels of SO2 around Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began.
In addition, there were high sulphur dioxide levels in the city of Chongqing which is also under quarantine.
Scientists say that sulphur dioxide is produced when bodies are cremated, and also when medical waste is incinerated.
But social media users who investigated the maps have suggested that dead bodies could be being burned on the outskirts of the city.
China has decreed that the bodies of coronavirus victims should be cremated in low-key funerals to prevent large public gatherings.
The country's National Health Commission said earlier this month that bodies should be 'cremated close by and immediately'.
On top of that, there have been repeated claims - albeit unverified - that officials are concealing a higher-than-reported death toll with mass cremations.
The high sulphur dioxide levels in Wuhan would be consistent with a high number of cremations in the city.
One map from Czech-based weather service Windy.com showed sulphur dioxide levels in Wuhan at a staggering 1,350 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) over the weekend.
For comparison, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that a dosage of 500 µg/m3 should not be exceeded for more than 10 minutes.
The UK government considers a 15-minute concentration of 533 µg/m3 to be 'high'.
According to the map, the SO2 levels were lower today but Wuhan and Chongqing still stood out compared to much of China.
Parts of Wuhan still showed concentrations above 500 µg/m3 on Monday, the map suggested.
Scientists say that cremating bodies releases SO2 along with other pollutants including nitrogen oxides.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says that
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
[and if they can’t work because they are sealed in they can pay the heat bill]
People in China do not have heat in apartment buildings. They wear more clothes. Most have a/c units for summer, or plug in heaters, but not central air as we are accustomed to here in the US. In the cities, electricity is very cheap.
It’s the question of food now - workers aren’t in the fields, or at the docks to receive goods. Trucks are allowed to transport food, but their internal supply chain for basic goods is down.
This is going to be a huge humanitarian crisis at the very least in China. Let’s hope that’s all it is, and that it remains mostly in Asia.
We have many advantages here - better hygiene, less smoking, fewer people handle cash, and less density of humans. If it gets loose here, we are less likely to encounter such high viral loads as the Chinese do.
I pray that saves us from what China is experiencing.
Chinese state subsidized electricity is nationally mandated to be just 8¢ per kiloW hour. The residents are further subsidized for electrical use under their socialist housing. In the US, it can be as high as 31¢ per KWh. . . Or as low as 11¢. In addition, some cooking is done with barbecue grills, using charcoal, on balconies. More sulfur dioxide released as people stay home and cook.
It’s always like this about anything
Can I ask why FR allows stuff like this to be spammed on so many threads? I get it - I’ve seen it a freakin’ 100 times just stop.
[Chinese state subsidized electricity is nationally mandated to be just 8¢ per kiloW hour. The residents are further subsidized for electrical use under their socialist housing. In the US, it can be as high as 31¢ per KWh. . . Or as low as 11¢. In addition, some cooking is done with barbecue grills, using charcoal, on balconies. More sulfur dioxide released as people stay home and cook. ]
And it actually stands to reason. Relative to incomes, housing is very expensive in China. Pork is about $3.50 a lb there. They can’t use motorcycles because they’re banned in most cities, cars are more expensive in absolute terms, gasoline costs more because of onerous gasoline taxes, cars are subject to road taxes and hefty registration fees - bottom line is that there is no excess income left for frivolities like home heating, on incomes that are 1/6 or 1/7 of US levels.
May I suggest that if you don't like being informed, take a break from FR?
[In the cities, electricity is very cheap.]
OK, fair enough, but can you “call” them with a simple text post instead of the same picture every time?
Good point. My in laws, and my former in laws were all fairly well off. Were...
Now having said that, my sister in law says that protein prices are through the roof now. It was bad enough when the African Swine Flu decimated their pork supplies, but now food is astronomical in Shanghai.
Brother in law and his son have been told to stay home again this week from their jobs.
I've already stepped down the font size on the last line.
Look at the bright side, you can skip these threads, I have to look over them to determine if they are ping worthy, and I don't even ping to all the threads available.
[Brother in law and his son have been told to stay home again this week from their jobs.]
How does it come to pass that you even see my pings if you aren't on the ping list?
I scan the latest posts and am interested in what’s happening with the Coronavirus, which is the reason I see your posts. It seems the copy-paste-ping just got to me this morning. I see many others do the same and I tire of the repetition. Is what it is...just part of the culture here. Thanks. /rant
He’s not spamming - he’s alerting a ping list.
a comment or two in <blockquote> at the top of many of these pings to soften it a bitEven though we're all suffering from threat fatigue, we're still in for a rough ride.
Hang in there my FRiend!
One could argue it’s as annoying as a smoke detector screeching on and on and on.
Just got a post that “People in China do not have heat in apartment buildings. They wear more clothes”
but you say “$300-$400 a month isn’t enough to pay heating bills”
So that seem contradictory and confusing.
Not true. When a large percentage of a population eats at a communal kitchen at work, or at a restaurant, or even a street vendor, the amount of SO2 will be significantly lower as most of those cooking stations will be powered either by gas or electricity, not charcoal. A multitude of single source cooking devices from multiple apartments are nowhere as efficient as large scale cooking stations. It just is much more efficient to cook large amounts of food than to cook for individuals or for small groups. That is common economics.
No, it isn’t. Clothing is a non-consumable. Electricity is the ultimate consumable. You cannot reuse electricity, while close can last years and be handed down. Clothes are a one-time purchase. Electricity is a monthly expense.
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