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2013 has passed， but memories of the smog that devoured many parts of the country are still fresh in the minds of China’s citizens.
In January 2013， a thick haze shrouded many cities for more than 20 days， affecting more than 600 million people in 17 provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions.
The latest wave of heavy smog came in early December the same year， blanketing more than 100 cities in 25 provinciallevel regions in and near China’s two largest industrial clusters—the Beijing-TianjinHebei region and the Yangtze River Delta. In some places， visibility was reduced to less than 10 meters， according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP）.
In Shanghai， PM2.5 density reached a record high of 602.3 mg per cubic meter on December 6， 2013， more than eight times the national limit of 75. The World Health Organization has set the safety guideline for PM2.5 at 25 mg per cubic meter. PM2.5 consists of all airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter， making them small enough to pass into the gas exchange region of the lungs.
The MEP blamed the smog in early December on the accumulation of pollutants caused by adverse weather conditions， vehicle emissions and a sharp increase in emissions from coal-burning for the heating season.
However， it has been argued that the heavy smog is simply a reflection of China’s economic development， and that restructuring of its development model needs to be carried out quicker.
“Smog and haze are largely attributed to the current development model，” said Xie Zhenhua， Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission. He added that companies care more about output growth and that environmental protection was being ignored as a result.
Zhou Jun， an official with the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau， said that the way China develops should be fundamentally changed in order to reduce the number of smoggy days.
Measures taken
A paper jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the China Meteorological Administration （CMA） last November warned that smoggy weather has become a lingering problem in China and the country faces a tough battle in its fight against serious air pollution.
The Annual Report on Action to Address Climate Change 2013 revealed that China has seen smog with increasing frequency and duration over the past 50 years. It noted that the number of smoggy days has increased， particularly around east China’s Yangtze River Delta as well as south China’s Pearl River Delta that is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao. The annual average number of smoggy days in regions across China reached 29.9 in 2013， the highest since 1961， according to The Economic Observer， a Beijing-based business news weekly.
In response to the deteriorating situation， the State Council， China’s cabinet， issued an action plan for air pollution treatment in September last year， vowing to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities across the country by 2017.
PM 2.5， a key indicator of air pollution， should fall by about 25 percent from the levels recorded in 2012 in Beijing and the surrounding provincial areas by 2017， according to the plan.
Under the targets， the country would rein in nationwide consumption of coal to less than 4 billion tons， and electricity consumption to less than 6.15 trillion kWh by 2015.
The document stated that coal consumption will be cut and new industrial projects， such as power plants and steel mills in key cities and regions， including Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta， will be banned.
“We must face up to the realities，” said Yan Naiqiang， a professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. “Dealing with smog will be a long battle.”
The State Council signed air pollution control initiatives last September with the governments of six provincial-level regions in north China， including Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shanxi， Inner Mongolia and Shandong， requiring coordinated efforts to tackle their severe air pollution.
Most of China’s southern provinces have also intensified anti-pollution cooperation with one another.
The Yangtze River Delta region will have a cooperative action plan on combating air pollution soon， said Zhang Quan， Director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau， on December 9， 2013.
“The target is to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 to 80 percent of 2012 levels in Shanghai and the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu by 2017，” Zhang noted.
Some regions are also considering technological remedies.
For example， Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang， decided to build a “green air corridor” to bring in wind from the suburbs and blow away smog in the inner city， according to local newspaper Metropolitan Express.
Experts say that the huge numbers of highrise buildings along the Qiantang River have blocked southeastern winds from blowing toward the main urban area of Hangzhou， causing pollution to become trapped. The Hangzhou Municipal Bureau for Urban Planning and the Bureau for Environmental Protection predict that the duct would help drive off heavy smog and relieve the “urban heat island effect” that affects the city in summer.
In their latest attempt， The CMA and the MEP signed a cooperation framework on December 24 last year aimed at improving forecasting services during stretches of heavy pollution.
The framework emphasized information sharing between the two departments including air quality monitoring， weather satellite and atmospheric data. It said that when weather conditions are likely to induce severe smog， weather and environment authorities will hold consultations and issue air pollution alerts in concert.
Feng Lei， Deputy Director of the CMA’s Disaster Relief Department， revealed that a trial run would be launched to help urban residents learn about changes in air conditions in advance.
New model
At the annual full session of the National People’s Congress （NPC）， China’s top legislature， in March 2013， lawmakers handed in several bills on amending the 1987 law on air pollution， which has already been revised twice in 1995 and 2000.
The NPC Standing Committee listed the amendment in its legislation plan， according to the Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the NPC. A report it submitted to a bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee at the end of last year announced that the committee will speed up the drafting procedure and that lawmakers’ proposals have been incorporated into a draft prepared by the Environmental Protection Ministry.
In addition to raising air quality standards and improving related accountability and performance review systems， the report said that more severe penalties should be imposed on polluters under the new law.
While the blame has mainly been put on adverse weather and increasing emissions， some experts point to the role that rapid urbanization has played in the creation of smog.
“China is experiencing what developed countries themselves experienced about 20 to 30 years ago， when smoggy and hazy weather frequently occurred and was caused by fast urbanization and poor urban layout，” said Peng Yingdeng， an expert on environmental impact assessment from the MEP. “If urban planning does not take diffusion of pollutants into consideration， smog will plague China for at least another 10 to 20 years.”
Fortunately， a high-level conference on urbanization held in mid-December offered a solution for the country’s future urban development and a way out of heavy smog， experts say. “The concept of ‘human-centered’ urbanization raised at the conference may help relieve the severe pollution problem，” Peng said.
The conference put great importance on ecological safety， while central authorities also promised to focus on the quality of urbanization and to improve the living standards of urban residents， including the expansion of forests， lakes and wetlands in urban areas.
Yi Peng， a researcher from the China Center for Urban Development under the National Development and Reform Commission， said that the urbanization process should be restrained to leave space for more foliage.
The conference also stressed the importance of cutting energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions， and increasing the efficiency of energy use， which is a positive step toward reaching the goals set by the State Council in September last year， according to Yi.
The conference stressed the importance of developing urban clusters. Yi believes the strategy will help fight air pollution， which is not confined to a certain region.
“Now the strategy is to concentrate people into several urban clusters and control the overall volume of energy consumption and emissions，” Yi said.
This human-centered urbanization model would not simply encourage farmers to swarm into cities， which could put even greater pressure on the environment， as city dwellers emit triple the volume of carbon dioxide as those in the countryside， Yi explained.
“Smog problems suggest a dead end for the traditional urbanization and development model，” Wu said. “We have to fundamentally change the economic structure and prompt the development of the service industry.”
In January 2013， a thick haze shrouded many cities for more than 20 days， affecting more than 600 million people in 17 provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions.
The latest wave of heavy smog came in early December the same year， blanketing more than 100 cities in 25 provinciallevel regions in and near China’s two largest industrial clusters—the Beijing-TianjinHebei region and the Yangtze River Delta. In some places， visibility was reduced to less than 10 meters， according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP）.
In Shanghai， PM2.5 density reached a record high of 602.3 mg per cubic meter on December 6， 2013， more than eight times the national limit of 75. The World Health Organization has set the safety guideline for PM2.5 at 25 mg per cubic meter. PM2.5 consists of all airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter， making them small enough to pass into the gas exchange region of the lungs.
The MEP blamed the smog in early December on the accumulation of pollutants caused by adverse weather conditions， vehicle emissions and a sharp increase in emissions from coal-burning for the heating season.
However， it has been argued that the heavy smog is simply a reflection of China’s economic development， and that restructuring of its development model needs to be carried out quicker.
“Smog and haze are largely attributed to the current development model，” said Xie Zhenhua， Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission. He added that companies care more about output growth and that environmental protection was being ignored as a result.
Zhou Jun， an official with the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau， said that the way China develops should be fundamentally changed in order to reduce the number of smoggy days.
Measures taken
A paper jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the China Meteorological Administration （CMA） last November warned that smoggy weather has become a lingering problem in China and the country faces a tough battle in its fight against serious air pollution.
The Annual Report on Action to Address Climate Change 2013 revealed that China has seen smog with increasing frequency and duration over the past 50 years. It noted that the number of smoggy days has increased， particularly around east China’s Yangtze River Delta as well as south China’s Pearl River Delta that is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao. The annual average number of smoggy days in regions across China reached 29.9 in 2013， the highest since 1961， according to The Economic Observer， a Beijing-based business news weekly.
In response to the deteriorating situation， the State Council， China’s cabinet， issued an action plan for air pollution treatment in September last year， vowing to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 percent in major cities across the country by 2017.
PM 2.5， a key indicator of air pollution， should fall by about 25 percent from the levels recorded in 2012 in Beijing and the surrounding provincial areas by 2017， according to the plan.
Under the targets， the country would rein in nationwide consumption of coal to less than 4 billion tons， and electricity consumption to less than 6.15 trillion kWh by 2015.
The document stated that coal consumption will be cut and new industrial projects， such as power plants and steel mills in key cities and regions， including Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta， will be banned.
“We must face up to the realities，” said Yan Naiqiang， a professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. “Dealing with smog will be a long battle.”
The State Council signed air pollution control initiatives last September with the governments of six provincial-level regions in north China， including Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shanxi， Inner Mongolia and Shandong， requiring coordinated efforts to tackle their severe air pollution.
Most of China’s southern provinces have also intensified anti-pollution cooperation with one another.
The Yangtze River Delta region will have a cooperative action plan on combating air pollution soon， said Zhang Quan， Director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau， on December 9， 2013.
“The target is to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 to 80 percent of 2012 levels in Shanghai and the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu by 2017，” Zhang noted.
Some regions are also considering technological remedies.
For example， Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang， decided to build a “green air corridor” to bring in wind from the suburbs and blow away smog in the inner city， according to local newspaper Metropolitan Express.
Experts say that the huge numbers of highrise buildings along the Qiantang River have blocked southeastern winds from blowing toward the main urban area of Hangzhou， causing pollution to become trapped. The Hangzhou Municipal Bureau for Urban Planning and the Bureau for Environmental Protection predict that the duct would help drive off heavy smog and relieve the “urban heat island effect” that affects the city in summer.
In their latest attempt， The CMA and the MEP signed a cooperation framework on December 24 last year aimed at improving forecasting services during stretches of heavy pollution.
The framework emphasized information sharing between the two departments including air quality monitoring， weather satellite and atmospheric data. It said that when weather conditions are likely to induce severe smog， weather and environment authorities will hold consultations and issue air pollution alerts in concert.
Feng Lei， Deputy Director of the CMA’s Disaster Relief Department， revealed that a trial run would be launched to help urban residents learn about changes in air conditions in advance.
New model
At the annual full session of the National People’s Congress （NPC）， China’s top legislature， in March 2013， lawmakers handed in several bills on amending the 1987 law on air pollution， which has already been revised twice in 1995 and 2000.
The NPC Standing Committee listed the amendment in its legislation plan， according to the Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the NPC. A report it submitted to a bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee at the end of last year announced that the committee will speed up the drafting procedure and that lawmakers’ proposals have been incorporated into a draft prepared by the Environmental Protection Ministry.
In addition to raising air quality standards and improving related accountability and performance review systems， the report said that more severe penalties should be imposed on polluters under the new law.
While the blame has mainly been put on adverse weather and increasing emissions， some experts point to the role that rapid urbanization has played in the creation of smog.
“China is experiencing what developed countries themselves experienced about 20 to 30 years ago， when smoggy and hazy weather frequently occurred and was caused by fast urbanization and poor urban layout，” said Peng Yingdeng， an expert on environmental impact assessment from the MEP. “If urban planning does not take diffusion of pollutants into consideration， smog will plague China for at least another 10 to 20 years.”
Fortunately， a high-level conference on urbanization held in mid-December offered a solution for the country’s future urban development and a way out of heavy smog， experts say. “The concept of ‘human-centered’ urbanization raised at the conference may help relieve the severe pollution problem，” Peng said.
The conference put great importance on ecological safety， while central authorities also promised to focus on the quality of urbanization and to improve the living standards of urban residents， including the expansion of forests， lakes and wetlands in urban areas.
Yi Peng， a researcher from the China Center for Urban Development under the National Development and Reform Commission， said that the urbanization process should be restrained to leave space for more foliage.
The conference also stressed the importance of cutting energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions， and increasing the efficiency of energy use， which is a positive step toward reaching the goals set by the State Council in September last year， according to Yi.
The conference stressed the importance of developing urban clusters. Yi believes the strategy will help fight air pollution， which is not confined to a certain region.
“Now the strategy is to concentrate people into several urban clusters and control the overall volume of energy consumption and emissions，” Yi said.
This human-centered urbanization model would not simply encourage farmers to swarm into cities， which could put even greater pressure on the environment， as city dwellers emit triple the volume of carbon dioxide as those in the countryside， Yi explained.
“Smog problems suggest a dead end for the traditional urbanization and development model，” Wu said. “We have to fundamentally change the economic structure and prompt the development of the service industry.”