From Beyond Carbon: The Breath of the Continent Reaching Yonaguni Island (2020s)

From Beyond Carbon: The Breath of the Continent Reaching Yonaguni Island (2020s)

Yonaguni Island. Located only 111 kilometers from mainland China, the island receives air from the continent in winter from the East Asian monsoon, which contains carbon dioxide emitted from coal burned in China. In the 2020s, instruments that measure the skies over Yonaguni Island and Hateruma Island will keenly reflect events occurring far away on the continent.

In 2020, the lockdown of all of China due to the spread of a new coronavirus temporarily halted industrial activity and reduced emissions by more than 30%. But as the economy resumed, carbon dioxide was once again released into the sky, reaching a record level of 15.3 gigatons in 2021. Coal was unloaded at the port of Nantong in Jiangsu Province, and the chimneys of power plants and cement factories billowed white smoke without a break.

A faint stream of carbon reaching Yonaguni Island. It is like a letter announcing a change in global respiration. The people standing on the island are unknowingly crossing with the breath of the continent. This wind that blows with coal will continue to silently dye the sky of the island now and in the future.