In 2013, haze continued to shroud most part of China, including inhabitable cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing. The market for dust masks and air purifiers is booming in those cities because the places has been shrouded for several days in thick fog and haze, an indicator of heavily polluted air.
Sales of masks and air purifiers were reportedly boosted by the haze weather. Units of air purifiers sold peaked in late November with an increase of 680 percent from a year earlier.
Taobao, China’s largest e-commerce platform, recently unveiled the key search terms on its website in 2013. Orders to fight the country’s record haze levels ranked number one, with 870 million yuan (US$143.3 million) in related sales, reports the state-run China News Service.
written by Nicolas Yang
