Also look at 2013 Northeastern China smog

This isnt the first time that smog has blanketed China. In recent years, poor air quality in Beijing
has closed schools and caused farmers in the region to panic over the lack of sunlight. Protective
face masks have become a common day-to-day sight, and grim poems salute the smog from
cancer's point of view, even as Mark Zuckerbergseemingly obliviouswent for a run in the
yellow haze last year.

Why does smog keep blanketing Beijing? Smog in China has many causes, including pollution
from industries and traffic, but it tends to happen more often in the winter, when plummeting
temperatures cause electricity demand to soar. This pollution can come from many sources, but
burning coal has been linked to the largest number of air pollution deaths in China, causing 366,000
premature deaths in 2013.
In the winter, more families are turning on their heatersand most of the energy used to run them
comes from coal-fired power plants that send tiny particles of charred dust into the air.
Those tiny particles, or particulate matter, are what turns clean air into smog. Particles in the air can
reduce visibility and contribute to acid rain, which can damage vegetation. The particles can also
discolor buildings, but the primary concern with particulate matter is what it can do to the human
body. Particles smaller than 10 micrometers are of particular concern to health experts, as particles
that small can damage the lungs, aggravate asthma, and even cause heart attacks. Inhaling
particulate matter can even prove fatal for people who have existing heart or lung conditions.
Beijing's smog woes are compounded by an accident of geography, according to AccuWeather.
Beijing is bordered by the Xishan and Yanshan mountains. When a high pressure weather system
moves in, air near the citys surface doesn't move up and over the nearby mountain ranges. It just
sits there, getting more and more polluted, and residents keep breathing it in.
China is taking steps to address the issue. The government has restricted driving in an effort to
staunch air pollution from cars. But that measure is temporary. Chinese officials announced this
week that the country would spend $360 billion on renewable energy projects, amping up its
reliance on solar and wind. But it has a long way to go. China is still the worlds largest consumer
of coal by far, and plans to continue using the sooty source of power.
There is some cause for optimism. Like Beijing, Los Angeles also sits in a bowl-like depression,
hemmed in by hills and seaand like Beijing, it once had a serious smog problem. But strict
regulations implemented over the past few decades have helped reduce the amount of smog in Los
Angeles, bringing back blue skies. Theres hope that they could return to China too, though
residents shouldn't expect to breathe easy any time soon.
The Chinese capital was on the second-highest orange smog alert in the depth of winter on Tuesday,
but city officials said the air quality was improving overall, citing data from last year.

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau told state media the total number of "blue
sky days" reached 198 last year, up 12 from 2015. It said the average PM2.5 measure particle
pollution 2.5 micrometres in size or smaller in the city dropped 9.9 per cent to an average of 73
micrograms of particle pollution per cubic metres, but still exceeded national air quality standards
by 109 per cent.

Beijing also cut total coal consumption to below 10 million tonnes in 2016, down from 23 million
in 2013. It closed 335 polluting factories and ordered 424,000 obsolete high-emitting vehicles off
the road last year, state news agency Xinhua said.
Despite a brief respite on Monday, smog returned to the Chinese capital on Tuesday, with PM2.5
readings again at "hazardous" levels. Smog is expected to persist in the region until a cold front
arrives on Jan. 8, Xinhua said.

China is in the third year of a "war on pollution" aimed at reversing the damage done to its skies,
soil and water after decades of untrammelled economic growth.
It has created emergency response systems to curb traffic and shut down factories and construction
sites during periods of heavy smog, and has also vowed to punish local officials and enterprises that
break rules.

Pollution prompts rare display of anger

People are frustrated because air quality was improving in 2016 until coal production ramped up in
September to service a mini stimulus package for heavy industries.
Cheap coal has powered China's economic miracle and still provides 70 per cent of the country's
energy. The Government is reluctant to wean itself off coal, fearing unemployment and unrest.
In a rare display of anger, China's rising middle class took to the Chinese social media website
"wechat", demanding the Government take action and protect the children of China.
They said the Government's "war on pollution", now in its third year, has not delivered results.
In 24 hours last week a petition asking the Government to install air filtration systems in schools
gathered nearly half a million views and more than 2,700 comments before it was shut down.
And there is good reason to be concerned studies suggest more than one million people die
prematurely every year from the toxic air that has engulfed northern China.
China's addiction to coal shows no signs of slowing. China produces and consumes more coal that
the rest of the world combined.
In the winter its citizens use the most. Like many in northern China, Li Yuan said he had no choice
but to burn coal to keep warm. He cannot afford electricity or gas coal is a quarter of the price.
But the biggest air polluters are the coal-fired powered stations that ring Beijing. There are about 22
major plants, working overtime to service the increase in production of steel and cement and also to
provide additional electricity to the cities and homes in northern China during the winter months.
The Chinese Government is telling the world it will dramatically slash its coal production, and last
week announced it would spend 2.5 trillion yuan ($489 billion) on renewable energy to ease the
pollution crisis.
But the reality is China has big plans for coal. Two hundred coal-fired power plants will be built in
the coming decade. Some of the older plants will be decommissioned, but even by 2020 coal
capacity is estimated to increase by 20 per cent.

Officials in Beijing are creating a new environmental police squad in the latest effort to fight
China's persistent problems with heavy smog.
According to state media, Beijing's acting mayor said the new police force would focus on open-air
barbecues, garbage incineration and the burning of wood and other biomass.
Beijing and dozens of cities in China spend many winter days under a thick, grey haze, caused
chiefly by thousands of coal-burning factories and a surplus of older, inefficient vehicles.
Government-issued "red alerts" on the worst days come with emergency measures that can include
shutting down highways, restricting vehicles, or ordering factories to curtail production.
However, enforcement remains an issue.
China's environmental ministry acknowledged last week that its inspection teams found companies
resuming production despite a government ban.
As Delhi considers using cloud seeding to tackle the unprecedented smog choking it, it could be
useful to look at another country that used the method --- China.
Cloud seeding is an artificial way to create rainfall. It is done either by using artillery to fire shells
containing rain-inducing chemicals such as silver iodide into the cloud cover or by dropping
chemicals from aircraft.
The Chinese government has used cloud seeding technology in the past not only to create artificial
rain but also to clear air pollution using induced precipitation. Most famously, the technology was
apparently used to keep the skies over Beijing blue during the 2008 August Olympics.
China even offered its cloud seeding technology to India to artificially induce rain in regions
affected by drought when a team of top meteorological scientists from Beijing, Shanghai and Anhui
visited Maharashtra in May to study the drought patterns in the state.
The Chinese government believes the technology works.
Read: Lessons for Delhi? Beijing plans to build ventilation corridors as smog returns
Earlier this year, the ministry of finance allocated 199 million yuan ($ 29.8 million) to support
weather modification operations by local authorities.
Weather modification usually refers to cloud-seeding practices that involve shooting various
substance into clouds, such as silver iodide, salts and dry ice, to bring on the formation of larger
raindrops and trigger downpours, as well as clear smog and clouds, Xinhua, the official news
agency, said in a report.

The money, the report added, will be used to relieve drought, bring about artificial rain and prevent
hailstones by using aircraft, guns and rockets.
However, caution must be exercised before emulating Chinas approach.
First, it isnt clear how often authorities in Beijing use the technology to clear smog or whether it is
effective at times of chart-busting pollution.
Second, the technique is only successful if the conditions are conducive to rain; there must be a
cloud there to begin with so that enough moisture could be generated for rain.
And third, experts warn of secondary air and water pollution as an outcome of the chemicals used in
the process the chemicals used in creating rain and clearing the air could in turn leave behind
residues of pollution.
Like New Delhi, whose pollution problem was exacerbated by Diwali crackers, Beijing has to
tackle a similar problem during week-long Chinese New Year celebrations that take place at the
beginning of every year. The tradition is to burst crackers to drive away evil spirits much like during
Diwali.
China has dealt with this by spreading anti-pollution awareness among people and acknowledging
the harm that crackers cause. The measures seemed to have been effective.
The municipal environment monitoring centre monitored a firework spree on the eve of Spring
Festival (China's Lunar New Year) on Sunday night that drove up the PM2.5 reading to as high as
700 mg ((micrograms) per cubic metres, Xinhua said in a report in February this year.
However, with a rising awareness of air protection, the capital city has witnessed a big fall of
firework consumption. From Sunday to Monday morning, sanitation workers swept away 413
tonnes of firework clastic on the streets, down by 33.8% from the same period of last year, Xinhua
reported.

Chinas Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced that air pollution is down 55 percent
thanks to Dutch-made smog-sucking vacuum towers installed in Beijing. The company that
designed the towers, Studio Roosegaarde, is claiming that PM2.5 particles have been filtered out of
the air by the billions.

Roosegaarde reports that the 7 meter-tall "cleaning temples" have cleansed 30 million cubic meters
of air in the past 41 days, repurposing the collected waste to make 300 commemorative rings, each
with its own tiny collection of smog particles.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/asia/201611261047855768-smog-towers-clean-bejing-air/

The effort to build the towers first began when Roosegaarde representatives visited Beijing three
years ago, noting that 80 percent of the city-dwelling population were "exposed to air-quality levels
that exceed World Health Organization limits," according to the design companys website.

While these reports are promising, other agencies have come forward challenging the findings. The
Chinese Forum of Environmental Justice (CFEJ) has claimed that the towers do not meet World
Health Organization standards, calling the structures "smog warning towers." The CFEJ
acknowledges that the towers do help to filter the air, but contend that that they are unstable and
only cover a limited area. Environmental experts told state-owned China News that "the weight of
the machines captured particulate matter per hour is less than that of a spoonful of salt." Beijings
air-quality issues have been a major health hazard for many years, to the point of some schools
installing airlocks at entryways to dome-covered sports areas so that children can play without
breathing in harmful particulates. Forum Secretary General Liu Guozheng told the Global Times
that, "To introduce the tower to China is to live in a future without need for it."

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/asia/201611261047855768-smog-towers-clean-bejing-air/

Air pollution could be the cause of 1 in 3 deaths in China, new academic research suggests, making
everyday life about as deadly as smoking cigarettes in some parts of the country.
According to the South China Morning Post, a recent study of 74 cities analyzed some 3.03 million
deaths recorded in 2013, and found that 31.8% of them could be linked to smog.
The study, carried out by researchers at Chinas Nanjing University, found that the air was most
toxic in the cities of Baoding, Shijiazhuang and Handan, each reporting more than 30,000 deaths in
2013 that could be linked to pollution.
It does not appear that the situation has markedly improved in the years since. Last Friday, Beijing
issued a red alert warning because of a blanket of thick smog shrouding the capital city and a
large swath of northern China, affecting nearly half a billion people. With pollution levels reaching
about 500 PM2.5 particles per cubic meter the WHO ranks safe levels as under 25 the so-
called airpocalypse, has sent tens of thousands fleeing to southern parts of the country, where the air
is cleaner.
Hospitals have been crowded with patients suffering respiratory problems, whole highways have
been shut down, and hundreds of flights grounded. Classes were also cancelled although in one
case exams were not. Shocking images spread across the Internet showing schoolchildren seated
outside wearing jackets and face masks, huddled over desks to take a test in gray, toxic gloom.
What do the heavy air pollution alert signals mean?
Announced by the Emergency Office, the four-level warning system for heavy air pollution is the
other warning system frequently seen in smog news.

First published on October 22, 2013, this alert system mainly uses the Air Quality Index (AQI),
published by the states Ministry of Environment Protection, which mainly tests levels of sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone. The system is divided into four levels:
blue, yellow, orange and red to mark each.
This warning system has been amended many times, but the four colours remain unchanged.
Beijing announced its first red alert for heavy air pollution in December 2015, and remained at
orange alert until the end of the year.

Fourth-level Blue Alert

The blue alert is the least serious air pollution alert, in which the AQI reaches over 200 and is
expected to affect the air for less than 24 hours.
Blue alerts are to be regarded as a warning of heavy air pollution to come if there is no response
from authorities.
Outdoor activities such as physical education classes are required to shut down when a blue alert is
announced.

Third-level Yellow Alert

A yellow alert is announced when the AQI exceeds 300 and lasts for at least 24 hours.
During a yellow alert, all construction sites that dont reach certain standards of dust control will be
closed to ease air pollution. In addition, heavily-polluting vehicles are banned from certain areas
and letting off of fireworks within city limits is forbidden.

Second-level Orange Alert

Orange alerts mean that the AQI has already gone beyond 400.
During an orange alert alert, all outdoor competitions and large-scale activities must be stopped.
Outdoor barbecues are also required to shut down, although people are often reluctant to follow this
rule.

First-level Red Alert

The first and only red alert for heavy air pollution was called in December 2015 in Beijing,
resulting in media attention both home and abroad.
When a red alert is announced, it means the AQI has rocketed to over 450.
The air is not considered suitable for any outdoor activities, and schools are also required to close.
In order to ease the heavy air pollution, Beijing also implemented a staggered vehicle ban that only
allowed even-numbered registration plates to operate one day before switching to odd the next.
Heavy smog that blanketed parts of China over the weekend cleared somewhat on Monday, with
flights in Beijing back to normal, but it was likely only to be a brief respite with more choking smog
expected to return to the wintry north within 24 hours.
Weather forecasts on Monday showed the smog would return to Beijing and nearby Tianjin city
on Tuesday. It was expected to persist until Thursday in Hebei, the heavily industrialized province
that surrounds the capital, and Henan and Shandong provinces, as the region battles freezing
temperatures.
Severe pollution is forecast to persist in the region for three to seven days, the official Xinhua news
agency reported.
Authorities have been issuing smog alerts across the north since mid-December, prompting orders
for hundreds of factories to scale back production or close outright and for restrictions on motorists
to cut emissions.
Pollution alerts are common in northern China, especially during winter when energy demand,
much of it met by coal, soars.
Electrical generating plants burn coal and much of the heavy industry, including steel-making, is
concentrated in northern provinces.

Smog above WHO recommended levels

A pollution index that measures the average concentration of small breathable particles, known as
PM2.5, dropped to just over 100 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing early on Monday from
more than 500 on Sunday night. The safe recommended level of PM2.5 is 10 micrograms per cubic
metre, according to the World Health Organization.
A customer service staff member at the Beijing Capital International Airport said flights were
returning to normal on Monday after smog on Sunday caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled.
On Monday, the Beijing government maintained its orange alert for heavy pollution and a ban on
heavy-duty construction trucks from using the roads.
An orange alert is the second-highest level in a four-tier pollution warning system adopted by
Beijing when China, worried that its heavy industrial past was tarnishing its global reputation and
holding back development, declared a "war on pollution" in 2014.

Pressure to tackle pollution

Despite that declaration, public anger is mounting about pollution and what many Chinese see as
government talk, but little action, to end it. That anger has occasionally spilled over into protests.
China's educated middle-class is increasingly intolerant of the bad air, which some blame on lack of
enforcement by government.
There is also pressure on China to move generation away from coal to meet its climate change
commitments
Late on Sunday, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said 62 northern cities had issued yellow,
orange or red alerts.
Some highways to Beijing and Tianjin were re-opened as motorists headed home at the end of the
long weekend, state television reported later on Monday. But 20 highways remained closed in
Shandon province, as heavy smog persisted.
State television also reported that some factories in Hebei province's heavy industry hub of
Tangshan, including a coal-fired power plant of Datang Power International, and several steel mills,
were found to be violating the curb on operations.
The latest bout of air pollution began on Friday. China has struggled to tackle the problem
effectively after decades of breakneck economic growth, much of it based on heavy industry and the
coal-fired power sector.