Beijing air quality improves by almost 20pc
BEIJING: The Chinese capital may have turned a corner in its battle against the notorious smog, according to Reuters calculations, and environmental consultants say the Chinese government deserves much of the credit for introducing tough antipollution measures.
The metropolis is set to record its biggest improvement in air quality in at least nine years, with a nearly 20 per cent change for the better.
The dramatic change, which has occurred across North China, is partly because of favourable weather conditions in the past three months but it also shows that the government’s strongarm tactics have had an impact.
The Reuters’ estimates show that average levels of the pollutants in the capital have fallen by about 35 per cent from 2012 numbers, with nearly half the improvement this year.
“The improvement in air quality is due both to long-term efforts by the government and short-term efforts this winter,” said Anders Hove, an energy consultant based here.
“After 2013, the air in summer got much cleaner, but winter had not shown much improvement. This year is the first winter improvement we’ve seen during this war on pollution.”
Officials signalled they were confident they were starting to get on top of the problem.
“The autumn and winter period is the most challenging part of the air pollution campaign. However, with the intensive efforts all departments have made, we believe the challenge is being successfully overcome,” Liu Youbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said on Thursday.
Some of those who had been benefiting from the poor air quality by selling air filtration products have been taking a hit.
“Overall demand in China is down... Some firms have 100 million yuan (RM62 million) in unsold inventory this year as a result of the improved air quality,” said Liam Bates, chief executive office of Beijing-based Kaiterra, which makes air filters and air quality monitoring products.
“We haven’t seen a huge impact because we’re expanding overseas. While the air in China is getting better, the air in India is much, much worse and we just opened our India office,” he said. Reuters