The China red smog alert may not immediately curb the country’s alarming air pollution, but in the long term, it could play a big role in solving the world’s carbon crisis. David Lom / NBC News source Beijing’s environmental agency issued the red alert for the 1st time, locking down schools, construction sites, factories, & banning hundreds of thousands of automobiles & even outside barbecues across the sprawling metropolis of 20 million residents.
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While pollution in the capital improved slightly in the first 10 months of the year, heavy smog that can be seen from space regularly forces Beijing schools to suspend outdoor activities and can even prompt highway closures because of reduced visibility.
“This measure reflects that the government, at least, has the courage to face this problem”, said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Chinese environmental group, referring to the red alert. Charcoal briquette-burning ovens that were once a major contributor to pollution are now much less common in Beijing, although they are still used widely in the countryside. Environmental group Greenpeace called it “a welcome sign of a different attitude from the Beijing government”.
“It is a sharp warning to us that we may have too much development at the price of environment and it is time for us to seriously deal with air pollution”, said Fan, the hotel employee.
Staff at Beijing’s Children’s Hospital were overwhelmed by the number of kids seeking treatment after being sickened by the toxic air.
In the meantime, the people of Beijing and visitors alike are struggling to breathe.
Many city residents donned industrial-strength face masks. State radio showed a picture on its official microblog of a policeman removing paper stuck to a vehicle’s licence plate to obscure its final digit.
A grey haze enveloped China’s capital, with levels of PM 2.5 (particulate matter), a mixture of microscopic solids and liquids floating in the air that can penetrate deep into the lungs, recorded as high as 300 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
“This (smog) problem comes with other climate change issues”.
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Still, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, without a hint of irony, praised China’s contribution to fighting climate change in a commentary written to coincide with climate talks in Paris.
