Cold front to help dispel smog in north China
Print Edition
AN approaching cold front will help disperse smog in north China, with visibility expected to be improved, the country’s meteorological authority forecast yesterday.
The National Meteorological Center renewed the orange alert for air pollution yesterday morning, but said the smog will gradually disperse because of the cold air.
The heavy haze, which has shrouded most areas of north China for three days, caused widespread flight delays and cancellations at Beijing Capital International Airport.
The cold front is also forecast to bring gales and drag temperatures down in most parts of China over the next three days, the center said.
Temperatures in some areas may even fall by 10 degrees Celsius. Parts of northern and northeastern regions will see snowy weather, while south China will receive showers or torrential rains.
The city government of Tangshan in Hebei Province has ordered local steel-rolling, casting, cement, glass and coke factories to halt production immediately in an emergency response to the country’s lingering air pollution.
All coal-fired boilers except those for heating must be turned off, while production and transport in all surface mines will be stopped, said an official statement released on Saturday.
Construction sites and concrete mixing plants across the city were also ordered to stop work.
The decisions were made on Saturday as China renewed its orange alert for air pollution that has lasted for days.
Moderate to heavy smog affected the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as some areas in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces, with visibility below 200 meters, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Nine of Liaoning’s 14 cities have reported severe air pollution, with the density of PM2.5, particulate matter that causes hazardous smog, standing at 669 micrograms per cubic meter in Shenyang, the provincial capital, from 7am to 8am on Saturday.
Sources with the province’s transport bureau said that several highways had been closed due to heavy smog.
At Tianjin airport, where visibility was reduced to 100 meters on Saturday morning, 80 flights were adjusted. By noon, 45 flights had been canceled.
The poor visibility also caused widespread flight delays and cancellations at Beijing Capital International Airport.
China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
After experiencing frequent bouts of smog, the Chinese public have become increasingly sensitive to the health hazard. To address public concerns, the government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities by 2017.
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