By Yuan Yang in Beijing
Return of 'airpocalypse'
China Dream
The government has shut schools, restricted road traffic and urged people to stay indoors as 24 cities across northeast China were put on “red alert” for extreme smog on Tuesday.
China's most severe bout of air pollution this year has hit 460m people, who are exposed to smog levels six times higher than the World Health Organisation’s daily guidelines, according to calculations by Greenpeace.
The government has shut schools, restricted road traffic and urged people to stay indoors as 24 cities across northeast China were put on “red alert” for extreme smog on Tuesday.
China's most severe bout of air pollution this year has hit 460m people, who are exposed to smog levels six times higher than the World Health Organisation’s daily guidelines, according to calculations by Greenpeace.
The smog has lasted over three days in many areas.
As of 11am local time, 217 flights at Beijing Capital Airport had been cancelled — almost a third of the total scheduled for the whole day.
Pollution has become a rallying topic for Chinese citizens.
As of 11am local time, 217 flights at Beijing Capital Airport had been cancelled — almost a third of the total scheduled for the whole day.
Pollution has become a rallying topic for Chinese citizens.
“The smog problem is a man-made disaster, local environment bureaux are not fulfilling their responsibilities,” wrote the top-rated online poster under a news article about the smog.
Two weeks ago, Beijing’s city legislature considered classifying smog as a “weather disaster”.
Two weeks ago, Beijing’s city legislature considered classifying smog as a “weather disaster”.
The move was questioned by environmental researchers who said it would help polluters escape responsibility for man-made pollution.
“The government is under too little pressure. It’s not enough to make them reform and make people’s lives their top priority,” wrote another online poster going by the initials HJ.
“The government is under too little pressure. It’s not enough to make them reform and make people’s lives their top priority,” wrote another online poster going by the initials HJ.
“The people are under too much pressure — if we try to protest, we’re said to be 'creating public disorder’."
Earlier this month, a planned protest against smog in the southwestern city of Chengdu was pre-empted by riot police who shut down the city’s central square.
Earlier this month, a planned protest against smog in the southwestern city of Chengdu was pre-empted by riot police who shut down the city’s central square.
Sit-in protesters wearing smog masks were detained by police for questioning.
“The link between smog and industry is clear. Since the second quarter of this year, when steel prices and output started growing, we saw air quality decline in the northeast,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, an air pollution specialist at Greenpeace in Beijing.
“The link between smog and industry is clear. Since the second quarter of this year, when steel prices and output started growing, we saw air quality decline in the northeast,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, an air pollution specialist at Greenpeace in Beijing.
“It’s a result of the government’s old-fashioned stimulus that boosted the industrial sectors.”
China’s smog is worst in the winter, when households consume more electricity from coal-fired power plants, and municipal heating is turned on.
In response to the emergency, the Ministry of Environmental Protection sent out three inspection teams, and publicly singled out chemical manufacturing companies that had failed to shut down their operations under the red-alert regulations, as well as power plants and coal-burning plants that had not met environmental standards.
The northeastern port city of Tianjin closed all but one of the highways in and out of the city because of poor visibility on the weekend.
China’s smog is worst in the winter, when households consume more electricity from coal-fired power plants, and municipal heating is turned on.
In response to the emergency, the Ministry of Environmental Protection sent out three inspection teams, and publicly singled out chemical manufacturing companies that had failed to shut down their operations under the red-alert regulations, as well as power plants and coal-burning plants that had not met environmental standards.
The northeastern port city of Tianjin closed all but one of the highways in and out of the city because of poor visibility on the weekend.
Over 30 flights were grounded at its international airport over the weekend.
Beijing, which has been on red alert since Friday, halved the number of motor vehicles allowed on the road on any given day by banning even- and odd-numbered license-plates on different days.
Ikea said that customer deliveries would be slower because of the vehicle restrictions while Taobao, China’s most popular online marketplace, warned customers that packages might be delayed because of the smog.
Beijing, which has been on red alert since Friday, halved the number of motor vehicles allowed on the road on any given day by banning even- and odd-numbered license-plates on different days.
Ikea said that customer deliveries would be slower because of the vehicle restrictions while Taobao, China’s most popular online marketplace, warned customers that packages might be delayed because of the smog.
SF Express, one of China’s largest logistic companies, said the heavy smog would delay packages for customers in Beijing, Tianjin and part of Hebei province for up to two days.
And visitors hoping to taste the capital’s most famous dish would have been disappointed on the weekend, when restaurants were banned from burning wood for roasting ducks.
And visitors hoping to taste the capital’s most famous dish would have been disappointed on the weekend, when restaurants were banned from burning wood for roasting ducks.
Plagued by industrial overcapacity, the Chinese government is now trying to shift the economy towards the service sector, and letting factories close in the industrial rust-belt of the northeast.
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