From coal to cars: Beijing moves up a gear in the war against air pollution
The Chinese capital has made big improvements in industrial emissions – now it’s time to tackle transport contamination
Environmental authorities in Beijing are shifting priority from tackling industrial emissions to curbing car pollution amid a dramatic drop in a coal-linked contaminant in the last few years.
Yu Jianhua, chief engineer of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, said the average level of sulphur dioxide (SO2) – an air pollutant linked to burning coal – had fallen more than 70 per cent from 28 grams per cubic metre 2012 to 8g/m3 last year, allowing the authorities to move on to tackle the next major source of contamination.
“Limiting coal use was our top priority over the last five years and now with the drop in sulphur dioxide levels ... vehicle emissions will be a bigger focus,” Yu said.
The improvement in air quality is reflected in various indices, including concentrations of PM2.5, tiny airborne particles particularly hazardous to human health. In 2013, PM2.5 levels were about 90g/m3 but by last year that had fallen to 58g/m3. The World Health Organisation considers PM2.5 levels under 25 g/m3 to be safe.
Beijing also had 226 days of “good” air quality in 2017, 50 more than in 2013. At the same time, the number of days of “serious” pollution dropped from 58 to 35.