Superclasico' gets the all-clear as Beijing smog lifts
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 12 October, 2014, 6:15am
UPDATED : Sunday, 12 October, 2014, 6:15am
Adrian Wan [email protected]
Women wear masks amid a heavy haze outside the 'Bird's Nest' stadium in Beijing before the Brazil vs Argentina match. Photo: Imaginechina
Heavy smog that had blanketed Beijing for the previous four days dispersed last night thanks to strong wind, just in time for a highly anticipated soccer game between Brazil and Argentina.
Air quality and visibility became so bad early yesterday that mainland media mockingly advised the visiting players against making long passes in the match.
But a cold front pushed gales towards the capital in the afternoon, ending the worst bout of smog since July, although weather authorities warned that the smog could return to the capital as early as Friday.
The cold air came too late for the Tour of Beijing, whose organisers had decided to slash the cycling race's second stage by about a quarter on Saturday following complaints from riders.
Belgium's Philippe Gilbert surged to the lead on the curtailed stage, which was scheduled to run for 147km from Chongli to Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing. But after days of smog, the stage ended 36km early.
"Air quality in Beijing has been very poor in the past few days and this has spread to surrounding areas including Yanqing," read the race's Twitter feed.
Yesterday morning, the observatory issued an orange pollution alert and a yellow fog alert in Beijing, Tianjin and neighbouring Hebei province, before the Beijing Meteorological Bureau took them down at 6pm.
The cold front arrived in Beijing at about 5pm. Winds gained strength during the night and significantly improved visibility, which had earlier been reduced to as little as 200 metres.
News of the arriving gales delighted Beijingers, with mainland media giving constant updates of the front's progress.
The respite came just in time for the game between Argentina and Brazil, billed as "the South American Superclasico", which kicked off at 8pm in the Bird's Nest National Stadium. Brazil won the game 2-0.
Beijing raised its pollution alert from yellow to orange - the second-highest level on a four-tier warning system - on Wednesday, during which the official Air Quality Index reached 470. A reading of over 300 is considered severe.
Typhoon Vongfong, which was heading towards Japan last night, would bring strong winds and cleaner air to the mainland's eastern coast over the next two days, meteorologists said.