Smog spreads to areas known for clean air
Print Edition
In a mountainous, woody part of south China, people are talking about the same problem facing Beijing thousands of kilometers away — smog.
Unlike Beijing, smog is new to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which has long boasted a good natural environment. After several bouts of hazy weather gripped the region last year, alarmed locals brought the issue to this year’s “two sessions.”
At the annual session of the region’s political consultative conference, being held along with the legislative meeting, haze has been a heated topic.
“Nanning (capital of Guangxi) used to be famous for its clean air, but after looking at the city’s air quality readings last year, it’s hard to be optimistic,” said Jiang Hongbing, vice head of the provincial supervision department and a political adviser.
The region reported 92 days of air pollution last year, and even as Jiang proposed greater government efforts to clean up the air last Friday, Nanning was shrouded in dense smog that shot up the pollution level to “serious.”
Jiang said worsening air quality had increasingly affected the livelihood of locals, and the government “should act before things get really serious.”
There were similar discussions at the ongoing political consultative conference in Hubei Province, which has tabled four proposals on smog control compared to only one last year.
Smog is a chronic problem in Hubei, where each winter has recorded more than 12 smoggy days since 2004, but the situation got worse last year, according to political adviser Li Hong. Hubei’s capital city of Wuhan, for instance, recorded 156 days of air pollution last year.
“(People in Hubei) feel the problems of Beijing and Shanghai are now happening around us,” said Li, who is the vice head of the provincial supervision department.
Air pollution is a perennial headache in China, with its industrialized Yangtze and Zhujiang river deltas and the area around Beijing being the hardest hit. But after a hazy 2013, alarm bells are ringing in areas where air pollution was previously moderate.
Neither Guangxi nor Hubei is in the traditional “smog belt,” and in 2013, several provinces and cities known for their good air quality also reported heavy smog, including the southeastern province of Fujian and Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region.
Apart from unfavorable weather patterns, experts have blamed unchecked industrial pollution and the side effects of rapid urbanization for the smog in more regions.
In the case of Guangxi, the increased discharge of industrial pollutants, dust from construction sites and vehicle emissions are identified as factors behind the deteriorating air quality, said Yu Zebin, an environmental expert at Guangxi University.
Political advisers in Guangxi and Hubei have proposed measures ranging from tightened controls on industrial polluters to promoting public transportation.
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