Beijing acts to battle severe air pollution
Print Edition
Beijing said yesterday that it will pull half of the private vehicles off the road and suspend schools during lingering smog in its latest effort to battle air pollution.
According to the plan, every time the city issues a red alert for air pollution — a forecast that implies three straight days of heavy pollution — the capital will enforce an emergency response program that will require alternate driving days for cars with even and odd-numbered license plates.
It means that vehicles with plates of odd numbers can only be driven on odd-number days. Government vehicles also fall under the plan.
With the ban on vehicles, 2 million more people are expected to rely on the public transport system. Accordingly, the city will increase the number of buses by 21,000 to 25,000. The subway operation time will be extended by half an hour in the evening, said Fang Li, deputy chief of the city’s environmental protection bureau.
More energy-efficient buses, powered by electricity or natural gas, will be pressed into service for residents.
Under the plan, about 30 percent of official cars will be ordered to stay off roads. Trucks carrying sands and dusty materials will be banned as well. Kindergartens, primary and middle schools will be closed during the period.
The plan envisages a four-tier alert system according to the severity of pollution, namely blue, yellow, orange and red. In case of an orange alert, the second highest level, fireworks, BBQ stalls and some factories and construction sites will be banned.
According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Air Quality Index of over 300 is defined as “serious pollution” and an AQI between 201 and 300 is “heavy pollution.”
A report by a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that vehicle exhaust fumes are among Beijing’s top sources of air pollution, contributing 22.2 percent of PM 2.5 particles in the city, exceeding the figure for industrial emissions.
Last month Beijing unveiled a five-year plan to improve air quality through measures such as cutting coal consumption, promoting clean energy use and reducing production capacities of factories with heavy pollution.
Heavy smog shrouded Beijing’s skyline during the seven-day National Day holiday early this month.
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