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A view from the CCTV tower in shows Beijing shrouded in heavy smog, China, in late November. Photo: Reuters
Parts of northern China will be engulfed from Saturday in the worst smog to hit the country this year, the National Meteorological Centre said on Thursday.
The forecaster said the smog would persist until Tuesday, and would be worse than the conditions in Beijing between December 6 and 9, which prompted the capital to issue its top red alert for the first time.
Visibility in Beijing and neighbouring regions will be down to less than 1km and in some places concentrations of PM2.5 pollutants – those most harmful to human health – will exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter – 20 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum.
Beijing has been labouring under severe smog since the end of last month. It endured a particularly heavy five-day stretch from November 27. The smog returned after a brief respite, which led to authorities issuing the red alert and shutting schools and bringing in traffic controls.
Beijingers complained of the inconvenience caused by the red alert, and criticised the authorities for failing to curb air pollution. The authorities said coal burning and car emissions were the main sources of pollutants.
Residents said they spent a lot of money to buy air purifiers and seek medical treatment. Face masks also condoms in Beijing on online shopping platforms.
Earlier this week, Shanghai and parts of the Yangtze River Delta were also blanketed in heavy smog, and a strong cold front from the mainland took airborne pollutants to Taiwan.
A view from the CCTV tower shows Beijing shrouded in heavy smog late last month. Photo: Reuters
Beijing issued its second ever “red alert” for smog yesterday morning, closing schools and ordering half of all private cars off the road from Saturday until Tuesday.
Weather authorities warned that the capital city would be shrouded in the worst smog this year in the next few days.
It will be Beijing’s third period of prolonged heavy pollution in less than a month.
But the Beijing Meteorological Bureau caused some confusion when it issued the red alert – the highest in the four-tier system – on Friday morning while the skies were still clear above the capital.
Wang Bin, an official with the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said the smog would start to descend on the city on Saturday and reach severe levels in the afternoon as southerly winds moved in and brought pollution. Wang said the early pollution warning was aimed at alerting the public so they could take precautions as soon as possible.
Some residents complained about the car ban, saying the public was being punished for the government’s failure to rein in pollution.
“Is this ‘red alert’ thing becoming the new normal? Will the car ban solve the smog problem? Will I get a refund for the taxes and fees I’ve paid for using the car?” one Beijing resident said on his microblog account.
Another said he would ignore the car ban even if it meant getting hit with a 100-yuan (HK$119) fine.
Others said their plans had been disrupted.One resident said she had to cancel the two-day trip she had booked to the Beijing suburbs because she would not be able to drive back into the city tomorrow under the car ban.
Today Art Museum, a private museum in Beijing, said it would postpone an event scheduled for Sunday until next weekend due to the red alert.
Despite the alerts, Wang said the city’s air pollution had improved significantly this year, with concentrations of PM2.5 pollutants – those most harmful to human health – dropping by 21.8 per cent in the first 10 months to 69.7 micrograms per cubic metre.
That is still nearly seven times the World Health Organisation’s recommended safe level.
The National Meteorological Centre said on Thursday that parts of northern China would be engulfed from Saturday in the worst smog to hit the country this year.
The forecaster said the smog would persist until Tuesday and would be worse than the conditions in Beijing between December 6 and 9, when the capital issued its top red alert for the first time.
Visibility in Beijing and neighbouring regions will be down to less than 1km and in some places concentrations of PM2.5 particles will exceed 500 micrograms per cubic metre.
Beijing has been labouring under severe smog since the end of last month. It endured a particularly heavy five-day stretch from November 27.
The smog returned after a brief respite, which led to authorities issuing the red alert and shutting schools and bringing in traffic controls.
China detains 10 company officials over fabricated pollution data as public anger grows over air quality
Inspections of businesses part of environment ministry crackdown that has been stepped since last week’s first red alert over acrid smog in Beijing, which triggered limits on vehicle use and school closures
Environment ministry inspections have been stepped up in China after a first red alert over pollution was issued in Beijing as acrid smog shrouded the capital. Photo: EPA
Police in China have detained 10 company officials for fabricating pollution data, says the environment ministry as the government steps up inspections of businesses amid growing public discontent over air quality.
The drive follows a red alert declared in Beijing last week over acrid smog that shrouded the capital, which triggered limits on vehicle use and school closures, with a government call for a halt to “large-scale, outdoor activity”.
In Friday Beijing issued another red alert as the National Meteorological Centre warned that some parts of north China would experience the worst smog so far this year from Saturday until next Tuesday.
A red alert is triggered when the government believes there will be at least three days of PM2.5 - tiny airborne particulate matter of 2.5 microns or smaller - where levels exceed 200 micrograms per cubic metre.
PM2.5 pollution is fine enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, and is associated with increased risk of heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and asthma.
A Chinese paramilitary officer stands guard in Tiananmen Square in Beijing last week as smog levels led to the first red alert being issued over air quality. Photo: EPAEight firms, from a sewage plant in the southern city of Dongguan to a Coca-Cola joint venture in northwestern Gansu province, were accused of using fake figures to hinder or manipulate environment checks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on its website on Thursday.
Special law enforcement teams from the ministry uncovered the cases, it said, adding that the firms “unscrupulously” falsified data in an attempt to evade regulations.
The ministry said some of the companies involved could face criminal lawsuits.
Chinese law prescribes jail terms of up to seven years for pollution offenders, the Xinhua news agency said.
Zhao Yanhong, a representative of Coca-Cola in China, said the case involving the joint venture happened in October and was handled by regional authorities, with a detained employee of the joint venture being released after five days.
“We've promptly accepted the criticism and rectification,” Zhao said.
