SCMP
Shi Jiangtao in Beijing
Air quality in the nation’s capital plunged yesterday morning to pre-Olympic levels again as dense smog blanketed the city, severely disrupting air and road traffic.
Pollution readings from both the local environmental watchdog and the US embassy exceeded the upper limit of “hazardous” for most of the morning, prompting calls for urgent government action.
The thi …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao in Beijing
The top environmental watchdog has set out a timetable for monitoring smog-related pollutants across the mainland amid mounting public pressure and setbacks in curbing pollution and energy waste this year.
The timetable unveiled by Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian on Wednesday is widely seen as a step in the right direction, but it fails to address mounting deman …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao
Vice-premier vowed to make environmental protection a top priority to rein in runaway economic expansion.
He appealed to local authorities to seek a more balanced growth path by turning to clean energy and low carbon sectors, and addressing acute environmental woes such as persistent smog in urban areas.
His remarks, at the opening of a five-yearly national conference of env …
SCMP
Fiona Tam
Microbloggers liken Beijing authorities’ claims of decreasing air pollution to an April fool’s day joke.
Beijing’s environmental authorities said yesterday that air quality in the capital city in 2011 was better than during the Olympics year of 2008, and that they had already met their target of “blue sky” days for this year, despite growing public concern that officials are cove …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao
Flights cancelled, roads are closed and sales of medical masks soar as experts warn of the health risks associated with the choking conditions.
Thick fog and smog that have blanketed much of northern China over the past three days are likely to persist at least until tomorrow, meteorological authorities warned yesterday.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Beijing and mo …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao
Amid mounting public pressure, the authorities announced a plan to set up a new air-quality monitoring station to gauge severe smog in Beijing and Tianjin .
But the move, apparently aimed at appeasing the public over a lack of transparency in pollution data, does not appear to have worked, as complaints soared about dense smog that blanketed the capital yesterday.
Citin …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao
Government reluctance to immediately change monitoring methods reinforces criticism it cannot face up to the grim truth of the urban environment.
The mainland’s top environmental watchdog has finally unveiled a timetable for long-awaited reform of outdated air pollution standards amid mounting public pressure.
But instead of directly answering calls for immediate public acces …
SCMP
Agence France-Presse in Beijing
Several mainland celebrities have joined an online campaign aimed at putting pressure on the government to improve the way it measures air pollution, as residents increasingly worry about their health.
Real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi initiated the drive at the weekend, calling on the online community to vote on whether authorities should start using a system th …
SCMP
Shi Jiangtao
Experts are saying the worst is still to come, as discrepancies between official monitoring data and figures from the US embassy are challenged.
Grey skies cleared in the capital yesterday after overnight drizzle and wind helped lift the choking smog that has hung over Beijing for most of the past two weeks.
But the heated debate triggered by the city’s worsening air pollution …
China Daily
Wang Qian
The capital’s meteorological bureau issued its first heavy fog alert of the winter on Sunday, as low visibility forced the closure of six highways and caused delays or cancellations to more than 200 flights to or from the city.
But although it is called a “fog alert”, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, said the hazes that have been smotheri …