Smog expected to get worse this winter
Print Edition
China is set to face severe air pollution this winter due to unfavorable weather conditions, the environment ministry said yesterday.
Smog has emerged as a major problem for the country, which has relied on coal and highly polluting heavy industries to fuel its economic growth, especially in northern regions.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the El Nino phenomenon meant that wind and rain levels were likely to be unusually low, so emissions from coal-fired heating systems would not be easily dispersed.
At an emergency meeting to discuss measures aimed at limiting pollution, the ministry urged heating providers to use high-quality coal and to make sure that mandatory boiler renovations have been done before winter heating begins.
The ministry will step up inspections of construction sites and try to reduce the use of fireworks. It has also made provisions to allow big polluting industries like steel and cement to work different shifts in order to reduce smog, it said.
Heating demand means that concentrations of small and breathable airborne particles known as PM2.5 reached an average of 111 micrograms per cubic meter last winter in Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin, higher than the yearly average of 88.
The government has promised to close polluting industries and cut the use of coal in industrial regions around Beijing, Shanghai and the Pearl River delta.
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