Heavy pollution predicted around Beijing
Print Edition
THE Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and nearby areas will see heavy air pollution next week, the Ministry of Environmental Protection warned, urging local authorities to be alert and make plans.
From tomorrow to Tuesday, the central and west of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as some areas of Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces, will experience heavy pollution, with the pollutant density reaching a peak on Monday, according to the ministry.
It attributed the forecast pollution to unfavorable weather conditions.
A cold front is expected to disperse the pollution toward the middle of the week.
Despite government efforts to fight pollution, frequent outbreaks of smog have become increasingly common in winter in north China where cold weather conditions and burning coal for heating combine to exacerbate the situation.
To improve air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, China has replaced dirtier coal use and penalized polluters.
Inspection teams have been sent to cities identified as sources of pollution and companies in breach of emission rules.
Beijing imposed more than 160 million yuan (US$24 million) in fines on sources of pollution in the first 10 months of this year, up 77 percent from a year ago, and set up an “environmental protection police” force.
Some 1,414 officials were held accountable in Tianjin, which tripled its fines on companies responsible for pollution to 249 million yuan.
Hebei phased out 33,600 small coal-fired boilers and reduced an oversupply in steel and cement capacity by more than 40 million tons and two million tons, respectively, to reduce dust emissions.
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