Highways and school playgrounds were closed in Beijing yesterday due to heavy pollution, as China ramps up coal production and faces scrutiny of its environmental record at make-or-break international climate talks.
World leaders have gathered in Scotland this week for COP26 negotiations billed as one of the last chances to avert catastrophic climate change, although Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) made a written address instead of attending in person.
China — the world’s largest emitter of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change — has ramped up coal output after supply chains have over the past few months been roiled by an energy crunch owing to strict emissions targets and record prices for fossil fuels.
Photo: AFP
A thick haze of smog yesterday blanketed swathes of northern China, with visibility in some areas reduced to less than 200m, the country’s weather forecaster reported.
Authorities in Beijing blamed the pollution on “unfavorable weather conditions and regional pollution spread” as schools in the capital — which is to host the Winter Olympics in February next year — were ordered to stop physical education classes and outdoor activities.
Stretches of highways to major cities including Shanghai, Tianjin and Harbin were closed due to poor visibility.
Pollutants detected in the morning by a monitoring station at the US embassy in Beijing reached levels defined as “very unhealthy” for the general population.
Levels of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), which penetrate deep into human lungs and cause respiratory illnesses, were 220 micrograms per cubic meter — far above the WHO recommended limit of 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
The smog is likely to persist until at least today in the evening, city officials said.
China earlier this week said that it had increased daily coal production by more than 1 million tonnes to ease an energy shortage that had in the past few months led to factory closures.
Rapid industrialization has made China no stranger to air pollution, although severe smog episodes have become less frequent over the past few years, as authorities have increasingly prioritized environmental protection.
Beijing has pledged to bring emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide to a peak by 2030 and reduce them to net-zero by 2060.
China on Wednesday hit back at criticism by US President Joe Biden, saying “actions speak louder than words,” after the US president accused Beijing of not showing leadership to combat climate change.
China generates about 60 percent of its energy from burning coal.
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