China’s national legislators are back in Beijing ... and so is the smog
Air pollution in the capital hit severe levels at 11am on Wednesday ahead of the annual ‘two sessions’ meeting of nation’s legislature and elite political advisers
Air quality in Beijing deteriorated yesterday as national legislators and elite political advisers were arriving in the capital city for the forthcoming “two sessions” – the annual meeting of the country’s legislature and elite political advisers – starting on Thursday.
Air pollution in the city reached severe levels at 11am on Wednesday as concentration of PM2.5 – tiny particulate pollutants that are most damaging to public health – reached 194 micrograms per cubic metre, according to readings from the US embassy in Beijing.
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The Air Quality Index in Beijing stood at about 200, in the unhealthy range. Visibility in the city was significantly reduced as the temperature rose to 15 degrees Celsius during the day.
The municipal government issued a yellow alert for smog – the lowest in a four-tier warning system – on Wednesday evening, warning the public to take precautions. It said the smog would be severe on Thursday and continue to Friday evening, when a cold front is expected to clear it.
Beijingers have put on masks again after enjoying continuous clear blue sky days during the past two months.
The National Meteorological Centre, the city’s weather bureau, has forecast that the smog will continue on Thursday, the opening day of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and last until Friday. The CPPCC will be followed by the National People’s Congress, which gets underway on Saturday.
Winds could also bring sandstorms to the city in the coming days after hitting northwestern regions, including parts of Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia this Thursday and Friday, according to the weather bureau’s forecast.
A second round of smog is forecast on Saturday and Sunday.
At the opening of the NPC in 2014, Premier Li Keqiang told delegates that China planned to wage a war to curb pollution.
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Beijing environmental authorities said on Monday that the city’s PM2.5 levels had dropped by 41.1 per cent to 56 micrograms per cubic metre in the first two months this year, compared with the same period last year.
Central inspectors of environmental violations have spent the whole of January in Hebei province, one of China’s worst polluting provinces in terms of air quality. The central leadership has highlighted cutting industrial overcapacity in high-polluting sectors – including coal, iron and steel – as a focus of its efforts this year.
PM2.5 refers to fine particles or particulate matter no bigger than 2.5 microns in diameter that can cause the greatest harm to public health.
The World Health Organisation recommends the average 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 at 25 or below.
Last December, the air quality index hit the 500-mark, the maximum, at all monitoring stations in Beijing.
