Beijing considers classifying worst smog events as natural disasters
City officials say notorious bad air days are part man-made, part natural but sceptics says it’s a move by officials to dodge responsibility to tackle air pollution
Beijing municipal authorities are mulling whether to classify the city’s notorious smog events as “meteorological disasters” along with torrential rain, blizzards and droughts among others, according to draft regulations on natural disaster mitigation submitted on Thursday.
Liu Zhengang, director of the municipal government’s legal affairs office, said smog as was “a combined result of man-made pollution and natural weather conditions” so it was appropriate to call the phenomenon a meteorological disaster, the Beijing News reported.
Both Tianjin and Hebei – Beijing’s neighbours – have classified smog as weather disasters, so Beijing authorities considered it “necessary” to adopt the classification as well for “regional cooperation on tackling smog”, the report said.
According to the proposals, which stipulate prevention measures and emergency responses, meteorological disasters caused 111 deaths in the capital between 2001 and 2014, and caused direct economic losses totalling 22.5 billion yuan (HK$26.6 billion).
The regulations call for Beijing to establish “wind corridors”– areas where, for example, building height and placement will be regulated to harness natural breezes to channel smog away from urban areas, the report said.