New | Northern China may get reprieve from smog as cold front approaches
Gust of cold air brings rain and wind that may dissipate the haze that has choked parts of the mainland
The heavy smog that has blanketed Beijing for more than a year may finally ease on Wednesday evening, when a strong cold front was expected to sweep across northern China, the National Meteorological Centre said.
The centre said in a statement that the cold air had arrived in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region early on Wednesday, and was expected to bring winds and rains to northern China, dispersing the persistent smog.
The cold front will reduce temperatures by up to 14 degrees Celsius, the statement said. In some areas, this cold snap, at its worst, could mean temperatures would drop further below zero
Up to 15 per cent of the country had been blanketed by hazardous-level pollution over the past week, with more than 19 cities recording PM2.5 levels (a measure of fine particulates) far exceeding the World Health Organisation’s threshold of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
The PM2.5 reading at the US Embassy in Beijing reached 551 micrograms per cubic metre at 12pm, meaning pollution has reached a level where people may experience more serious health effects.
The Beijing government’s air quality index, calculated based on the concentration of various pollutants, also reached more than 500 in several districts.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection earlier said they would send 12 teams of inspectors to audit how local authorities were responding to severe smog, amid growing public outcry over a failure to tackle the problem.
