Beijing Olympic officials must be breathing a sigh of relief today. There was actually visible blue sky, though with a tinge of gray.
However, in the last several days, Beijing has been covered in a grey “fog,” or is it polluted air accumulated in the humid atmosphere?
The International Olympic Committee’s executive director Gilbert Felli has his own opinion. In an interview with Xinhua published today, he said: “Most of the people see the fog, they say it’s pollution. But we know here it’s not pollution. It’s mist, it’s a fact of nature.”
Mist?
But in fact in the last few days, local pollution ratings have exceeded the national standard for acceptable air despite taking half the cars off Beijing’s roads for the past 10 days.
Accuracy questioned
The Chinese capital uses the “Blue Sky” air quality monitoring system, where 1 is the best, 500 the worst. The accuracy of the Chinese readings has been called into question, but Beijing officials defend them.
Nevertheless, a rating of 101 is considered acceptable. Last Thursday it was 113, Friday was 109, Saturday 118, and Sunday 113.
Beijing officials were forced to spin the situation, claiming the temporary car ban has helped reduce 20 per cent of the pollutants in the air, compared to the same period last year.
They also blamed the humid summer haze on recent weeks of unusually heavy rains, and that there hasn’t been enough wind to blow the pollution away. Part of the problem is Beijing’s geographical location. Not only is it inland, but also near mountains that can prevent the wind from carrying pollutants away.
If more “blue skies” don’t come in the less than 10 days to go until the Games, officials are said to be mulling over the possibility of banning more vehicles from the roads and stopping construction sites and factories from working.
Emergency plan
Li Xin, a senior engineer who has drawn up an emergency plan for the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said on Sunday: “We will implement an emergency plan 48 hours in advance if the air quality deteriorates during the August 8-24 Games.”
He didn’t reveal any details, but promised they would be released soon.
That would be a bummer for those who bought a second car to avoid having to take public transit.
This afternoon traffic was heavy along the Fourth Ring Road as I tried to get to the International Broadcast Center, despite only cars with the license plate ending with an odd number were allowed on the roads.
My taxi driver groaned watching the police who were blocking all roads leading to the Olympic Green, where venues like the National Stadium and the National Aquatic Center are located.
Perhaps that was causing the hold-up in the traffic.
One wonders that if the air really does clear up in over a week that Beijing residents will appreciate the improved air quality during the Olympics and demand the government keep it that way.
Just a thought.
