Each morning, we step out of our homes, energized and determined to tackle the day ahead. Yet, that optimism can quickly fade when we are confronted by an unsettling sight: a hazy, smoky skyline. At first glance, it may resemble a serene path to heaven—but as our bodies respond with coughing, sneezing, tearing eyes, and shortness of breath, reality sets in. What lies before us is not serenity, but an unavoidable public health hazard: PM2.5 air pollution.
When I was a child, I heard a story that has lingered in my memory ever since. A fire had broken out in a quiet village, and amid the panic, one man rushed back into his burning home—not to find his family or save something irreplaceable, but to carry out a large water jar. He managed to escape, jar in tow, but as he stood in the ashes later, he was struck with confusion. How had he carried something so heavy on his own? And more troubling still—why had he instinctively grabbed the jar instead of thinking about his family’s safety?
