Beijing residents watch a giant video screen outside a shopping mall on a polluted day, on December 9, 2015 Pollution red alerts spread to more Chinese cities, state media reported on December 9, as Beijing entered its third day of heavy smog, with officials warning poor conditions could last until Saturday in some places.
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Beijing’s authorities ordered limits on cars, factories and construction sites for three days during a red alert for smog starting Tuesday.
Smog has been a public health concern in Beijing for years but the government’s response has drawn scrutiny in the past week, following criticism that it did not issue a red alert during an earlier episode of hazardous smog.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the emergency measures had cut pollutant emissions by 30 percent from 7 a.m.to 5 p.m. Tuesday.
In recent days, the PM2.5 index, which measures the level of harmful particles in the air, was at 300 microgrammes, but had fallen to 100 by late Thursday.
Schools were closed when the top-level code red was declared on Tuesday for the first time since a four-colour code system was imposed in 2013, and traffic restricted to driving alternate days by odd and even number plates.
Li Shixiang, deputy mayor of Beijing, said the efforts to curb the air pollution turned out effective and the government will build more monitoring stations and mobile monitoring vehicles, to provide more information to facilitate the forecast on smog.
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Most of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of coal for electricity and heating – particularly when demand peaks in winter – which is also the key cause of smog.
