Beijing and neighbors set for 2 days of air pollution
Print Edition
A new round of air pollution may hit Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and neighboring areas today and tomorrow due to unfavorable weather conditions and the lighting of fireworks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection warned yesterday.
A cold front is expected to help to disperse the pollution on Sunday.
Setting off fireworks and firecrackers, a Lunar New Year custom in China, has led to a surge in the density of PM2.5, tiny airborne particles that are hazardous to health, during the holiday, the ministry said.
Of the 338 cities monitored by the ministry, 242 cities reported good air quality on Wednesday and yesterday, while 96 cities fell victim of the pollution.
In an attempt to curb pollution, Beijing authorities this year reduced the number of firework sales outlets by nearly 30 percent and halved the sales period to 10 days from 20.
Nationwide, 444 cities have banned setting off fireworks and 764 others imposed restrictions on lighting fireworks, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
In Beijing, sales of firework dropped and fewer injuries were caused by the festive explosive during the week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, the city government said yesterday.
As of Wednesday night, a total of 122,000 boxes of fireworks had been sold across the city, down 30.3 percent from the same period of last year, said a spokesman with the Beijing government’s fireworks office.
Eighty-one people were injured in firework-caused accidents from last Friday to Wednesday, the first six days of the holiday week, down 21.4 percent from last year, the official said, adding no deaths or severe injuries were reported.
The city reported 62 fires caused by fireworks in the past six days, he said.
The Beijing government put 73,100 policemen, medical workers, firefighters and volunteers on guard for firework-related emergencies on Wednesday, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year which is traditionally considered a halt of the revelry and often celebrated by setting off more fireworks.
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