What’s new: China’s top environmental authority has warned of a potential spike in air pollution during the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, and has specified the measures local authorities need to take to ensure clearer skies.
The Winter Games and Paralympic Games are held at the conjunction of winter and spring, when meteorological conditions are “very unfavorable,” Liu Youbin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said at a Monday press briefing.
Liu said that Beijing and neighboring Hebei province will take temporary administrative measures to manage and control companies and vehicles that generate high emissions.
Authorities will implement emergency response plans when heavy air pollution is forecast, Liu said. The measures to be taken should have minimum impact on the economy and society, especially on people’s livelihood, energy supply, household heating and disease prevention and control.
The background: The Winter Games will be held from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 in Beijing, its suburb Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou, a remote city in Hebei province. One of the goals is to host a green games.
Earlier this month, Beijing’s environmental watchdog said in a statement that the city fully complied with national air quality standards for the first time in 2021. The city’s annual average concentration of PM2.5 dropped to 33 micrograms per cubic meter last year, a reading down 63.1% from 2013, but still remains much higher than the level of 5 micrograms per cubic meter recommended by the World Health Organization.
Contact reporter Cai Xuejiao (xuejiaocai@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)
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