Editorial | Battle for clean Beijing air will be a long one
- Blue skies over the capital and the meeting of national air quality standards for the first time have been celebrated, but the struggle to fight pollution while maintaining steady economic growth is far from over
Clean air and blue sky are still a luxury to many cities. Beijing is one of them. Despite its vigorous anti-pollution drive in recent years, the capital still makes headlines for its smoggy weather from time to time.
The images that its people are often choking in bad air do not do justice to the country’s efforts in improving air quality.
That perception is being dispelled by the latest report issued by Beijing’s environmental protection bureau. For the first time, the national air quality standards were met last year.
The concentrations of lung-damaging small particles known as PM2.5 averaged 33 micrograms per cubic metre. This was 13 per cent lower than in 2019 and a 63 per cent drop from the data first released by the authorities in 2013. The levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide also fell by 89 per cent and 54 per cent respectively.
For a country where economic growth precedes environmental protection, this is a significant achievement.
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The authorities attributed the improvements to an array of measures over the years, including cutting coal consumption, relocating heavy industries and reducing transport emissions. The lockdown and travel restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic might have also helped.
