Beijing yesterday released its strictest-ever emergency plan for air pollution, including school closures, production shutdowns, work stoppages, and vehicle restrictions! Going forward, once a "red" alert is issued, vehicles will be restricted to odd-numbered days on odd-numbered license plates and even-numbered days on even-numbered license plates. In addition, 30% of Beijing government vehicles and 80% of municipal government vehicles will be suspended from driving. Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens will be closed. In cases of severe air pollution, relevant enterprises will face production stoppages or restrictions.
As Beijing's smog worsens and air pollution becomes more frequent, the city mobilized more than ten units to hold a press conference yesterday to release the "Beijing Municipal Emergency Response Plan for Severe Air Pollution," the strictest and most forceful emergency response measure taken by Beijing in recent years.
Fang Li, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, emphasized that warning signals should be issued as early as possible, one day in advance. Fang Ping, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, said that emergency restrictions will only be implemented temporarily when extreme pollution occurs and a "red" warning is issued.
Fang Ping stated that many types of vehicles are not included in the suspension list, including military and police vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, engineering vehicles, taxis, buses, funeral vehicles, and vehicles with the prefix "使" (meaning "embassy" or "government procuratorial vehicle"). Vehicles belonging to central party and government organs are also excluded from the suspension list. Fang Ping did not disclose the number of such vehicles.
Li Hong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Information Technology, said that after a "red" alert is issued, enterprises and institutions can implement flexible working hours as appropriate; and according to the list of industrial enterprises to suspend or limit production during periods of heavy air pollution, relevant enterprises will be subject to measures to suspend or limit production to reduce pollutant emissions by 30%.
In September of this year, the China Meteorological Administration formulated a new Air Quality Index (AQI), which divides the air pollution meteorological conditions forecast level into 6 levels from "good" to "very poor", and represents them with six colors: bright green, grass green, yellow, orange, red, and dark brown.
This new Air Quality Index (AQI) standard adds PM2.5, ozone, and carbon monoxide to the original three pollutants, using a comprehensive six-indicator system to evaluate air quality. According to the new standard, "Level 6 Air Pollution" is marked in dark brown, representing "extremely poor" air quality, indicating extremely unfavorable conditions for the dilution, dispersion, and removal of air pollutants.
Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said that smoggy weather containing fine particulate matter is more carcinogenic than smoking. He said that in the past 30 years, the smoking rate among mainland Chinese has been declining, but the incidence of lung cancer has increased more than fourfold, which is related to the increase in smoggy days.
Sources: China Times Electronic News (2013-10-23)
