Cold air from north to help clear capital’s skies
Beijing: Meteorological conditions that don’t favour the dispersal of pollutants are to blame for air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with winds carrying pollutants from other regions, making the situation even worse, authorities said.
While cold air from the north will help clear the pollution on Tuesday, moderate to heavy pollution may linger in cities in central and southern parts of the region for the day, a national joint research centre on the causes and control of air pollution said on Monday.
From Friday night, the density of PM2.5, a major air pollutant, in some cities around the Taihang and Yanshan mountains in the region began to climb because of pollutants transported from the south and unfavourable conditions for pollutant dispersal, including high humidity and a stable atmosphere.
The hourly average concentration of PM2.5 in Xingtai and Tangshan in Hebei province reached the heavily polluted threshold first, with the level in Beijing following suit.
As of 8pm last Sunday, the hourly average concentration in Baoding had peaked at 164 micrograms per cubic metre, the centre said in a statement. Beijing’s environmental monitoring authority said the PM2.5 density in the capital reached the heavy pollution level from last Sunday afternoon and it remained high during daytime on Monday.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has regularly been hit by similar air pollution around the National Day holiday,” the joint centre said.