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Is China reaching the limits of its air pollution control efforts?
- Strong winds come to the rescue in Beijing but eastern China is cloaked in smog
- The country has made big gains in air quality but weather conditions remain a factor in fluctuations, expert says
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Zhang Tongin Beijing
In the end, a cold wind from the northwest came to the rescue on Sunday, dispersing the worst pollution Beijing had seen so far this winter.
But eastern China remained blanketed in severe smog and haze, waiting for gusts to help clear the air.
A decade ago, high pollution was usual in winter, but in recent years, such conditions have become uncommon.
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In Beijing, for example, the average level in 2022 of especially harmful particulates called PM2.5 was down to one-third of that seen in 2013.
The past decade has seen a positive shift in data but recent nationwide smog alerts raise the question: has China reached the limits of its air pollution control efforts?
01:29
Beijing hit by thick smog as it struggles to improve air quality for ‘green’ Winter Olympics
Beijing hit by thick smog as it struggles to improve air quality for ‘green’ Winter Olympics
Environmentalist Ma Jun, from the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), said China’s decade-long efforts to improve air quality had paid off, with pollution from excessive emissions now a rarity.
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