Beijing pledges clean air in bid to host 2022 Winter Olympics

Beijing has pledged to clean up its air to ensure ideal conditions for Winter Games athletes as part of its bid to host the event in 2022.

The capital is competing against Almaty in Kazakhstan after Oslo, Norway, dropped out last month, citing public opposition to its bid. The International Olympic Committee will make site evaluations in February and the winner will be decided in July.

Beijing was putting together a two-step plan to reduce smog, with targets for 2017 and 2022, Wang Hui, the media director of Beijing's bid committee, said yesterday.

"Beijing has called for cooperation from major provinces and districts in northern China and will mobilise all its resources to clean up the air and bring down the air quality index reading," she said.

"We'll make sure that by 2022 the air quality in Beijing is the best for athletes to compete in."

Air quality has been a persistent concern for athletes. Many of the 30,000 runners in an international marathon in Beijing last month wore gas masks because the city was blanketed by smog, with the air quality index climbing above 400. Any reading above 300 is considered "hazardous".

City officials launched a plan last year to clean up the air and reduce PM2.5 levels - tiny particles that can cause the most harm to health - in Beijing and its surrounding counties by a quarter from 2012 levels by 2017. Some of the measures undertaken include using less coal, cutting vehicle emissions and promoting a green economy.