Beijing chemical plants and factories shut to try to curb air pollution
100 plants and building sites in Beijing stop work ahead of cold snap expected to clear smog
A hundred chemical plants, construction sites and factories in Beijing have closed temporarily or cut back production as the authorities scramble for ways to curb the worst air pollution in years.
Air pollution figures improved yesterday and officials said they expected the thick smog in the capital would be dispelled by a cold snap in the next few days.
The level of health-threatening PM2.5 particles, smaller than 2.5 microns, was between 200 and 400 micrograms per cubic metre yesterday, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Centre said, down from 500 on Sunday. The US embassy's pollution monitoring service said PM2.5 readings yesterday were higher than 300 micrograms per cubic metre. Its readings reached 886 on Saturday.
Beijing's municipal government said it was the worst smog in many years. Zhang Dawei , director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Centre, said: "Even the level of PM10 would rarely go up to 700 and 900 during autumn and winter. We believe that the high concentration of PM2.5 over the past days is very rare."
Zhang blamed the pollution on vehicle emissions, industrial production and cold weather, which saw a surge in the use of coal for central heating
A deputy director of the municipal economy and information technology commission, Li Hong , said 58 construction sites, metal refineries and chemical plants in Beijing had suspended production, and 41 other enterprises had scaled back production to cut emissions. The Beijing Morning Post said that Beijing Hyundai Motor suspended car production on Sunday.