Smoggy days arrive early in northeastern regions
Extreme air pollution levels measured in Harbin; haze to linger elsewhere
As coal-burning heat systems came alive in mid-October in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, the smog that usually waits for late autumn and winter came early.
Meteorological authorities in the province issued an orange alert for heavy air pollution on Wednesday, the second-highest alert in the nation’s four-tier emergency response system.
Smog has widely blanketed the province, including Harbin, Suihua, Hegang, Jiamusi, Shuangyashan, Qitaihe, Jixi and Mudanjiang.
The air quality index in Harbin, the capital, for example, hit 500 from late Wednesday to early Thursday, according to the National Environmental Monitoring Center.
Anything above 300 is considered hazardous. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 20.
Smog will also hit other northern regions over the weekend. Pollution is forecast to linger in Beijing and Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong from Saturday to Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The six provincial regions are required to make adequate preparations for smog and initiate emergency plans for severe bouts.
“Heilongjiang is a major food producing area and the burning of crop stalks left over from the year’s harvest contributes to dense air pollution,” said Liu Youbin, a senior official in the ministry’s publicity department said after a news conference on Tuesday. “The coal burning is another significant source of air pollution in the province.”
On Thursday, Li Mu, a teacher at Heilongjiang University who is on business in Acheng district, about 52 kilometers from central Harbin, said: “This morning, I found lots of farmers burning stalks in the fields along the highway. There was a smell of smog per- vading the air inside the bus.
“The prohibition of open burning is not the best way, I think, to solve the problem,” she said. “The government should continue to figure out new methods to make good use of the stalks and straw.”
Unfortunately, there has been little wind to help dissipate the airborne particles, said Fang Lijuan, chief forecaster at the Harbin meteorological station.
“A cold front will bring wind on Thursday, and conditions may change a little for the better. However, the city may see pollution worsen, with the weather growing warmer starting on Saturday,” Fang said.
Xiao Chang, 35, an employee at a State-owned enterprise in Harbin, was in a hurry to select and purchase an air purifier on the internet.
“My 3-year-old daughter shows great discomfort in the bad weather and has a serious cough,” he said. “Her condition didn’t change even though we kept her at home to prevent harm.
“The air purifiers have become a daily necessity for many people around me, and some families have more than one. I hope it can help make her feel better.”
According to Zhao Qingdong, a respiratory physician at Harbin First Hospital, “Air pollutants, including PM2.5, PM10 and sulfides, are hazardous, especially for children and the elderly. They can cause illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma.”
He added: “In the smoggy weather days, we should reduce outdoor activities and choose light and healthy meals.”
Liu, the publicity official, said the ministry has promoted a series of measures to control air pollution in the northeast.
“Three inspection teams have been dispatched to Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces to supervise related government organs,” he said.
Environmental experts from the national monitoring center have also arrived to provide technical assistance, he added.
Zheng Jinran contributed to this story.
A college student in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has designed a robot that he says can perform acupuncture.
Xu Tiancheng, a postgraduate student at Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said he was inspired by Baymax, the healthcare robot from the hit animated movie Big Hero 6. He said his robot can treat several ailments, including insomnia, stomachache and muscle fatigue.
“My father is an acupuncturist, and I noticed in his clinic that the most diligent acupuncturist can only treat about 100 patients a day,” Xu said. “Robots can free practitioners from exhaustive, repetitive labor so they can focus on designing better treatment plans.”
He said that although people have different body shapes, the acupoints — the right positions to perform acupuncture — are all in the same places on the human body.
“For example,” Xu said, “one frequently used acupoint is the hegu, between the first and second dorsal metacarpal bones. To be exact, it is in the midpoint of the radial part of the second metacarpal bone, regardless of different body shapes. We only need to set up an accurate model for the robots to find the right acupoints.”
Xu said his robot can measure a person’s height and subcutaneous fat before calculating where and how deep to insert the needle. It also has ultrasonic sensors on its “hands” to prevent the needle going too deep.
“With the help of built-in sensors, the robot can also calculate muscle tension to avoid excessive pain for the patient,” he said. “We have also designed 27,000 acupuncture treatments for the robot to perform.”
Xu conceded that robots cannot be trusted with crucial parts of the body, such as the head, neck and waist.
More experiments are required before the robot can be used clinically, he said, but he added that several enterprises have already been in contact about collaborating.