Winds of change: after years of denial, China’s politicians have finally woken up to nation’s concerns over hazardous air pollution
Beijing’s decision to put city on highest air pollution alert last week – even though smog levels were far from its worst – had less to do with weather forecasts and more to do with public sentiment
Air quality in the Chinese capital is not just a matter of physical elements – it also comes down to the political winds blowing through the city.
With the first such red alert, the capital has set a good example in this respect
That is why the Beijing municipal government’s decision to put the city on the highest air pollution alert last week had less to do with weather forecasts and more to do with public sentiment.
It was the first time the national capital had declared the highest alert, although pollution levels were far from the city’s worst.
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Before that, the highest Beijing had gone was orange – the second-highest of the four-tier system. The most recent orange alert began on November 30, when the density of highly hazardous PM2.5 particles – the finest pollutant particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that can cause the greatest harm to public health – was more than 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre, or 40 times higher than international safe levels. The World Health Organisation says a reading of 25, on average, over 24 hours, is safe.
After years of denying the problem, the central government has only recently accepted that pollution is of genuine concern and started to publish air quality readings for major cities. But many question the accuracy of the data, pointing to discrepancies with figures released by foreign agencies.
Monday’s red alert marked official acknowledgment of the public perception that previous bouts of bad air had been played down.
Some state media tried to put a positive spin on the development, with China Daily editorialising that “with the first such red alert, the capital has set a good example in this respect”.
But others took a darker view. China.com.cn, a news portal run by the State Council Information Office, said smog had damaged the government’s image, and Xinhua contrasted photographs of the city on pollution-free days and the depths of the alert.