Beijing Winter Air Quality Will Improve ... and Worsen?
Today in "abundance of redundance": over the span of days, a singular Chinese authority has released contradictory information that says air quality in China's polluted northern cities will improve – and worsen – this upcoming autumn and winter.
Let's re-phrase to make the confusion all the more clear: in less than a week, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has published conflicting reports, saying – on the one hand – that smog-infused residents of cities like Beijing can optimistically expect up to 20 percent fewer polluted days this winter but – on the other hand – they should expect more severe air pollution this year.
Whom do you believe? Where does the truth reside? To disentangle ourselves from this conflagration of fiery oxymorons, let's adopt a "good news/bad news" storytelling device as used by doctors depicted in bar room jokes.
The good news: Chinese authorities are fully confident that newly-imposed government measures will improve air quality in the country's notoriously polluted northern region.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced it will launch a campaign against air pollution this autumn and winter, employing new techniques that will improve its forecast by an additional three days, allowing 28 northern cities up to ten days to employ emergency response measures.
This followed Friday's optimistic China Daily headline: "Forecast calls for clearer winter skies," in which new regulations against coal use in 28 northern Chinese cities will result in better air quality this heating season.
"I have confidence that we can have more good-air days in autumn and winter considering these harsh controls," said Liu Bingjiang, head of the air quality management bureau at the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Inspection teams sent to 28 smoggy cities will ensure someone will be held responsible for poor air quality. "The leading officials will be held accountable for poor performance," said Liu Changgen, deputy director in charge of central inspection from the ministry.
In fact, the future is so bright that the central government has decreed that PM 2.5 concentrations will decrease by one-quarter of 2012 levels by the end of this year.
That certainly is good news. But, we're not done yet ...
The bad news: International weather conditions will make severe air pollution arrive early this season in China's north.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (the same one) said a forecast of poor air quality is inevitable for northern Chinese cities, reported People's Daily. Scientists attribute the upcoming smoggy days to an increase of temperatures and humidity due to factors such as the warming of the Pacific Ocean, the melting of ice in the Arctic Circle, and cold high-pressure winds from Siberia becoming weaker than normal.
As a result of the subtropical ridge becoming more prominent this year, there will be less cold air coming into China this winter, leading to stagnant air over northern cities that are prone to smog conditions.
The future is always unclear, but we're not sure what to believe from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. It's now only the beginning of September, but this past weekend saw the city's first smog attack of the season, signifying the end to the blue skies that graced us this summer.
The current smog is expected to clear up by Tuesday (today), but as for the official air quality forecast coming up this winter, we don't expect it to be cleared up any time soon – maybe not until we're caught in the thick of it.
Images: bendibao.com
Top Stories This Week:
Beijingers Are Buzzing About:
Road, Web, and Life Flow to Slow at 19th Plenum in October