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Beijing authorities step up pollution watch ahead of Apec summit

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Beijing authorities step up pollution watch ahead of Apec summit

Pollution monitoring to be increased in capital with Apec gathering less than two weeks away

PUBLISHED : Friday, 24 October, 2014, 1:39pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 25 October, 2014, 2:58am

Nectar Gan [email protected]

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Beijing's central business district is shrouded by heavy smog yesterday. Photo: Simon Song

With less than two weeks until world leaders arrive for the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation summit, Beijing has stepped up pollution monitoring as it tries to lift the veil of smog choking the capital.

The authorities said yesterday that from tomorrow they would issue daily air quality forecasts for the coming week, and release hourly pollution readings.

The China National Environmental Monitoring Centre will also hold a daily video conference with units in Beijing, Tianjin , Hebei , Inner Mongolia , Shanxi and Shandong at 3pm to discuss and forecast air quality, the Legal Evening News reported.

The results will be flashed on outdoor electronic display screens and released through the internet and mobile applications. An additional meeting will be convened in the morning if pollution is expected.

Another monitoring station has been set up at Yanxi Lake in Huairou district, where President Xi Jinping will meet Apec leaders on November 10 and 11, bringing the city's total number of stations to 36.

Beijing remained engulfed in heavy smog yesterday and the pollution is not expected to lift until tomorrow.

The official air quality index (AQI) stood at 363 at 7pm, a level classified as "severely polluted".

The smog set in on Thursday and has hit other areas in the northeast. The AQI in Harbin , Heilongjiang province, soared beyond the index limit of 500 at 5pm yesterday.

The centre said medium to heavy smog would shroud the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region until tomorrow. Visibility would drop to less than 500 metres in some areas this morning.

In a joint warning, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the China Meteorological Administration said "heavy pollution" would blanket central and southern Beijing and Tianjin, as well as some parts of Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces, until 8am tomorrow.

Central and southern Hebei will fare even worse, with the area experiencing an AQI reading of over 300, meaning people should avoid all outdoor exercise.

The smog should gradually disperse from the north after tonight, when a cold front is expected to arrive.

It is the third time the capital has been hit by choking air pollution this month and index readings have twice soared past the 400 mark. Many internet users have expressed their frustration and anger on social media.

"When on earth can the problem be solved? Apparently [the authorities] have not taken it seriously," one microblogger said.

The municipal government has announced a six-day public holiday for central and city government departments during the summit. It will also impose a rule ordering drivers to use their vehicles only on alternate days to reduce traffic during the summit.

Meanwhile, Hebei province will idle more than 800 polluting factories and halt nearly 900 construction sites for almost two weeks to help clear the air for the Apec meeting.


 
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