In 2021, China’s capital, Beijing, met state air quality standards for the first time, officials said Tuesday (4), a milestone praised by experts, but who also warned that pollution remains high in one of the cities. most populous cities in the world.
China declared a “war on pollution” in 2014 after the concentration of harmful smoke in Beijing and elsewhere sparked widespread public outrage, prompting joint efforts to cut coal consumption, reduce transport emissions, relocate industry grassroots and crack down on environmental violations.
“The improvements are real and are happening across the industrial belt around Beijing as well as much of the rest of the country,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, chief analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
However, he warned that pollution remains high enough to “constitute a permanent health risk to residents.”
The annual average of harmful small airborne particles, known as PM2.5, was 33 micrograms per cubic meter, nearly seven times the level of 5 micrograms recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Still, that reading represents a 13 percent drop from a year earlier, and met China’s provisional 35-microgram standard for the first time, officials said during a briefing on Tuesday.
Yu Jianhua, deputy head of Beijing’s environmental protection department, described the city’s efforts over the past decade, as well as the speed of its improvements, as “unprecedented.”
Beijing residents enjoyed nearly four more months of clear skies last year compared to 2013, he added.
“Further improvements will require a shift from using coal and oil to clean energy,” Myllyvirta said.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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