Phillippines urges residents to mask up as volcanic smog blankets capital

Resident told to mask up in affected areas as schools forced to close

Neil Jerome Morales
4 days ago

The Manila skyline is seen shrouded in smog
(AFP via Getty Images)

Volcanic smog has blanketed the Philippine capital Manila and nearby provinces, with residents urged to stay indoors and schools forced to close.

Taal, a small but restive volcano near the capital, spewed above-average sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog on Friday, prompting authorities to issue a health warning and urge residents in affected areas to mask up.


The state volcanology and seismology institute said it observed upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the Taal volcano‘s crater lake, resulting in the emission of volcanic gases.


The health alert sits at level 1 on a five-level scale, denoting a “slight increase in volcanic earthquake, and steam or gas activity”.

An airplane flies on a sky shrouded with smog in Taguig city, Philippines
(EPA)

Located in a scenic lake in Batangas province near Manila, the 311-metre (1,020-foot) Taal is among the most active of 24 volcanoes in the Philippines.

In January 2020, it spewed a column of ash and steam 9.32 miles high, forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate and dozens of flight cancellations as heavy ash fell as far away as Manila.

“We have reports of respiratory illnesses in Batangas province due to intoxication from the volcanic smog,” Randy Dela Paz, operations section chief at the civil defence’s southern Manila office, told DWPM radio.


The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol told The Manila Times the current smog should not be a cause for residents to panic as the alert level is low, but said people in affected areas to be vigilant and wear masks when they smell the smog.

Smog covers Metro Manila and nearby provinces
(EPA)

Volcanic smog, or vog, consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas like sulfur that can cause irritation of the eyes, throat and respiratory tract.

Authorities suspended Friday classes in dozens of towns and cities in the Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas provinces adjacent to Taal volcano, and in five cities in the capital region.

The aviation authority on Friday told pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano‘s summit “as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircrafts”.

The Philippines is in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

Taal Volcano’s smog blanket southwest Philippines province, with possibility of acid rain

Satellite detects large cloud of SO2 over and expanding west of Taal Lake, near volcano in Batanga province, Science Ministry says, advising people to limit their exposure to gas

Esra Tekin |22.09.2023 

Smoke rise from Taal volcano in Batangas, Philippines on July 05, 2021. 

( Dante Dennis Diosina Jr. - Anadolu Agency )

ISTANBUL

The sulfur dioxide level at the Philippines' Taal Volcano has increased, causing constant volcanic smog and the possibility of acid rain, the country's Science and Technology Ministry said on Friday.

“A total of 4,569 tons/day of volcanic sulfur dioxide or SO2 gas emission from the Taal Main Crater was also measured today, 21 September 2023,” said the ministry in a statement.

Satellite monitors detected a large cloud of SO2 over and expanding west of Taal Lake, which is near the volcano in the Philippines' Batanga province, the ministry said, advising people to limit their exposure to the gas and protect themselves.

Taal Volcano is currently on Alert Level 1, indicating an abnormal state, the statement said.

Acid rain may form when there is rainfall concurrent with the release of volcanic gases in regions where the plume spreads, which can harm crops and cause corrosion of metal roofs on homes and structures.

This status should not be interpreted as a cessation of unrest or the removal of the threat of eruptive activity, the statement said.

“As a reminder, vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas such as SO2, which is acidic and can cause irritation of the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract with severities depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure,” it added.

Toxic smog which shrouds Lahore poses cross-border challenge in South Asia

Experts estimate more than 1.5 billion people are exposed to high concentrations of air pollution in Pakistan and India alone.

Published 11 hours ago

The air smells burnt in Lahore, a city in Pakistan’s east that used to be famous for its gardens but has become infamous for its terrible air quality.

Toxic smog has caused ill health among tens of thousands of people in recent months as Lahore sits in an airshed – an area where pollutants from industry, transport and other human activities get trapped because of local weather and topography so they cannot disperse easily.

Artificial rain was deployed in December to battle the smog – a national first for the technique – but nothing seems to be working.

Airsheds also contribute to cross-border pollution. Under certain wind conditions, 30% of pollution in the Indian capital New Delhi can come from Pakistan’s Punjab province, where Lahore is the capital.

There are six major airsheds in South Asia, home to many of the world’s worst polluted cities.

Emissions from industry are a key part of the problem (KM Chaudary/AP)

But that is a tall order when political relations in the region are fraught.

Ties between India and Pakistan are broken, their interactions riddled with animosity and suspicion.

Travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people from crossing the border for leisure, study and work, although the countries make exceptions for religious pilgrimages.

Pakistani analyst Abid Suleri, from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, said: “There’s a recognition among the technical and scientific community that air pollution doesn’t need a visa to travel across borders.”

The culprits and problems are the same on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, he said, so it makes no sense for one province to implement measures if a neighbouring province across the border is not adopting the same practices.

A sweeper wears a scarf over his face as smog envelops Lahore (KM Chaudary/AP)

“Airshed management needs a regional plan,” he said. “But 2024 is an election year in India and Pakistan, and government-to-government co-operation hasn’t reached that level.”

Pakistan is weeks away from voting in national parliamentary elections. So far, only the former foreign minister and political party leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has pledged heavy investment in climate adaptability, following record-breaking floods that killed more than 1,700 people.

In India, air pollution does not figure as a core issue that people would vote on, said Bhargav Krishna, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative think-tank.

But the experience or impact of climate change could make people think about how they vote.

Mr Krishna said regional elections sometimes see air pollution-related promises. “It was a feature of every party’s election manifesto in the New Delhi elections in 2020,” he noted.

Pollution is a major problem too in India, with thick smog surrounding the Akshardham temple in New Delhi (Altaf Qadri/AP)

The global body said almost 93% of Pakistanis are exposed to severe pollution levels. In India, it is 96% of the population. That means more than 1.5 billion people are exposed to high concentrations of air pollution in these two countries alone. It estimates around 220,000 deaths a year in Pakistan’s Punjab can be attributed to causes related to poor air.

Gray haze hangs pall-like over Punjab’s homes, mosques, schools, streets and farmland. There are 6.7 million vehicles on Lahore’s roads every day, and construction, emissions and waste are rife. There is scant visibility at major road junctions after dark, and smog shrouds landmarks like the Mughal-era Badshahi Mosque.

Pulmonologist Dr Khawar Abbas Chaudhry laments the deterioration of Lahore, which he describes as a “once beautiful” city. The hospital where he works is part of the Bill Gates-backed Evercare Group that has hospitals in the region, including India and Bangladesh, and in east Africa.

Syed Naseem Ur Rehman Shah, director of Punjab’s Environment Protection Department, said efforts are under way to clean up the air, but it will take time (KM Chaudary/AP)

There are forums within Evercare to discuss issues like air pollution, and he and colleagues, including those from India, talk about the health impact of smog. But this dialogue is only happening within one institution.

“Countries, governments, departments need to be involved,” said Dr Chaudhry. “They need to meet regularly. Ultimately, people need to reach out and that could put some pressure on movers and shakers on both sides of the border.”

The director of Punjab’s Environment Protection Department, Syed Naseem Ur Rehman Shah, is proud of local achievements to fight air pollution.

He said emissions from industry and brick kilns are under control, farmers can soon buy subsidised machinery to end the menace of crop stubble burning, and there is a drive towards getting electric three-wheeled tuk-tuks, motorbikes and buses on the roads.

But although things are getting better, Mr Shah said it will take time.

That is of little consolation to Pakistani poet and former ambassador Ata ul Haq Qasmi, who is in Evercare for respiratory issues exacerbated by air pollution.

“If my friends aren’t in hospital, they should be,” he said. “You only have to step outside for it (the smog) to grab you.”

Punjab’s Smoking Basket

The hazardous effects of smog and what countries can do to produce cleaner air for the future.

Published about 2 hours ago

Ar. Sana Hafeez Taimur

Long considered to be the ‘food basket’ of South Asia, Punjab is the most agriculturally productive region in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Unlike the spring harvest which brings beautiful colours and festivals such as the Baisakhi Mela, the autumn harvest results in a gloomy ambience, which engulfs the region in hazardous smog.

The R-Smog Report of 2018 indicates that air pollution in Punjab originating from vehicular traffic and industrial emissions is reaching its peak - emanating from agricultural sources and meteorological conditions during the October and November harvests, giving rise to low hanging air pollution.

Prior to mechanised harvesting, farmers in the region (as late as the mid-eighties) used to leave the crop residue to naturally decompose and enrich the soil for four to six weeks. Contrary to manual harvests, combined harvesters leave root‐bound, foot-high stalks that cannot decompose naturally until the sowing season. Furthermore, rice crop residue was previously used for cooking and home insulation purposes, animal hay and even in construction. However, with the intrusion of modern lifestyles and the disappearance of traditional, kacha villages, these practices are becoming obsolete - making it more likely for farmers to burn the excessive residue

The adverse health effects of smog are well-known. The Air Quality Life Index produced by the University of Chicago warns that the average Pakistani’s life could be reduced by more than two years because of the current air quality. WHO recorded 60,000 smog related deaths in Pakistan in 2015 and the Ministry of Health reported 1,000 new patients per day in Lahore during the smog season at major public hospitals.

Owing to this threat, governments on both sides of border have made crop residue fires illegal. However, smog conditions during the current season are a testament to the fact that regulations pushed hastily, without considering the ground realities are futile in solving the predicament. To achieve a permanent resolution, a detailed inquiry into current practices needs to be undertaken before asserting guidelines on rural livelihoods. Such a resolve can only come from providing financially viable alternatives that may render burning unnecessary.

Indian researchers claim to have developed a low cost microbial liquid that turns crop stubble into compost. Such products and awareness about them can be made available to farmers through initiatives like Bakhabar Kissan (BKK) (a collaboration with Jazz aimed at developing a farmer centric platform to bring together all stakeholders in the agriculture value chain). Another factor that makes agricultural fires appealing for farmers is that they burn pest eggs from the prior season. Therefore, any clean air initiative must ensure the availability of sustainable and cost-effective pesticides to farmers. Alternatively, crop reduce can be made into marketable by-products. This approach is essentially about mirroring traditional usages and adjusting them to modern needs. For instance, the ban on plastic bags is an opportunity to use rice reduce in manufacturing disposable paper items (using wood alternatives in the paper industry is beneficial on multiple levels). Furthermore, investments in the Thermal and Biogas energy sectors with easily accessible collection points can prove to be a feasible option.

Unfortunately, agricultural fires are an issue faced in many parts of the world, including China, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan. China has employed a micro solution called Smog Free Tower on an experimental basis. These towers use ion technology to produce clean air that can benefit people breathing the air in close proximity to these towers. However, at the end of the day, countries need to work together to find workable and permanent solutions. For instance, the ASEAN Haze Agreement, a legally binding environmental agreement signed in 2002 by all member states aimed at reducing haze pollution in Southeast Asia for the breathing rights of their future generations.

Punjab’s Smoking Basket - Blogs - Aurora (dawn.com)

Converse Creates Air Purifying Murals With 'smog-eating Paint' In Bangkok And Warsaw

Under the Converse City Forest initiative, the shoe company has created clean graffiti with 'smog-eating paint' which has the power to reduce air pollution.

Written By

Janvi Manchanda

The American Shoe Company, Converse has launched an environment-friendly initiative under which they are creating clean graffiti in different cities across the globe. Under the Converse City Forest initiative, murals are being created with photocatalytic paint. This 'smog-eating paint' breaks down the air pollutants and purifies the air creating a clean environment. Converse has already created these murals in Bangkok, Thailand and Warsaw, Poland. More such murals will be made on walls in Sydney, Jakarta, Manila, Sao Paulo, Belgrade, Lima, Santiago, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Bogota and Panama City under the Converse City Forest. 

Converse City Forest project has used a special 'smog-eating paint' also known as photocatalytic paint for the clean graffiti in Bangkok and Warsaw and will use the same for all the other cities as well. This paint converts the harmful air pollutants into harmless substance by using light energy to break it down. The 'smog-eating paint' turns every surface into an air-purifying surface and is as good as planting trees. 

Bangkok's Clean Graffiti

The Converse City Forest murals in Bangkok were created in collaboration with Thai street artist Teerayut Puechpen, popularly known as TRK, and Sorravis Prakong. The clean graffiti in Bangkok has an image of holding hands which is a symbol of unity. The 'smog-eat paint' used in the mural makes it equal to planting about 150 trees in the city. This Converse City Forest mural will have a huge impact on air pollution in the area as it will purify the air by reducing harmful gasses. 

Warsaw's Clean Graffiti

For the murals in Warsaw, Converse City Forest collaborated with illustrator and graphic designer Dawid Ryski and Maciek Polak. This clean graffiti in Poland is located next to the Politechnika metro station in Warsaw. The air-purifying mural reads a quote, 'Create Together For Tomorrow' and shows beautiful flowers growing amid the building in a city. This mural created with 'smog-eating paint' is equal to planting about 780 trees in the middle of the city which will drastically reduce the air pollution in the area and make the air cleaner. 

Smog-ridden New Delhi extends schools shutdown

AND FIRE FESTIVAL DIWALI IS THIS MONTH

AFP
Sun, 5 November 2023 

Every autumn New Delhi is blanketed by a carpet of acrid smog, primarily blamed on stubble-burning by farmers in the neighbouring agrarian states (ARUN THAKUR)

Authorities in India's smog-ridden capital New Delhi on Sunday extended an emergency schools closure by a week, with no signs of improvement in the megacity's choking levels of pollution.

New Delhi is blanketed in acrid smog every autumn, primarily blamed on stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring agrarian states.

The city is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted on the planet, with its annual smog blamed for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year.


"As pollution levels continue to remain high, primary schools in Delhi will stay closed till 10th November," Delhi state's education minister Atishi posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Secondary schools "are being given the option of shifting to online classes," added Atishi, who uses only one name, after days of high pollution levels.

The Indian capital -- which has a population of 30 million -- once again ranked as the world's most polluted city Sunday, according to monitoring firm IQAir.

Delhi state annually imposes restrictions on construction activities and orders some vehicles off roads when pollution reaches severe levels.

But critics say that governments wilfully ignore the agricultural primary source of the public health crisis.

The farmers in neighbouring states are a powerful electoral lobby and leaders have long resisted calls to impose strict fines and other punitive measures on them for their actions.

New Delhi is set to host a cricket World Cup match on Monday between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

But both teams cancelled their scheduled pre-match training sessions in recent days over health risks from the smog.

-'No choice'-

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha admitted on Sunday that they have "no choice" but to play.

"We were concerned. We are trying to minimise our exposure to the outdoors as much as possible," he told reporters.

"The air quality is affecting both teams. It's not ideal, but we have no choice. We have to play in the conditions in front of us."

Some asthmatic players had not attended training, he added.

Severe smog levels are expected to persist in the city for several more weeks.

Levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles -- so tiny they can enter the bloodstream -- reached 570 micrograms per cubic metre on Sunday according to IQAir, nearly 40 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization.

A Lancet study in 2020 attributed 1.67 million deaths to air pollution in India during the previous year, including almost 17,500 in New Delhi.

And the average city resident could die nearly 12 years earlier than expected due to air pollution, according to an August report by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute.


India is heavily reliant on polluting coal for energy generation, resisting calls to phase it out, and its per capita coal emissions have risen 29 percent in the past seven years.

bb/slb/dhw

UPDATED

New Delhi wakes up to blanket of toxic smog and worst pollution all year after defying firework ban

In India, toxic air kills more than a million people annually but the government has been accused of not doing enough to curb pollution - instead prioritising economic growth.

Megan Baynes
News reporter @megbaynes
Friday 5 November 2021 
Image:Residents of New Delhi woke up to the most polluted air of the year so far

The morning after Diwali celebrations residents of New Delhi woke up to a blanket of toxic smog, breathing in the most polluted air of the year so far.

The city has the worst air quality of all the world's capitals, but Friday's reading was the highest of 2021, as people paid the price for defying the fireworks ban.
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The Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 451 out of 500 - the maximum recorded this year.

Image:Morning haze and smog envelops the skyline after Diwali fireworks were let off despite a ban

It indicates "severe" conditions that will affect healthy people and seriously impact those with pre-existing conditions.

The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air.

In Delhi, the PM2.5 reading on Friday averaged 706 micrograms. The World Health Organisation deems anything above an annual average of five micrograms unsafe.

By comparison, London measured 50 PM2.5 on the AQI on Friday morning.

In India, toxic air kills more than a million people annually.

"The firecracker ban didn't seem to be successful in Delhi, which led to hazardous pollution levels adding on top of existing perennial sources," Sunil Dahiya, analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.

The government imposes a ban on fireworks every year, but these are rarely enforced.

Stubble fires - where farmers in Delhi's neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana burn fields to prepare for the next crop - also account for 35% of New Delhi's PM2.5 levels.

Ambrish Mithal, a doctor at the Max HealthCare hospital in New Delhi, vented his frustration on Twitter, and said: "It's terrible for those with allergies and asthma. We will continue to squabble over reasons and are doomed to suffer."

An Indian paramilitary soldier walks near India Gate which is shrouded in smog

The government has been accused of not doing enough to curb pollution, instead prioritising economic growth.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that India would achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 - two decades after the date set by other countries.

 
In October, intermittent rain and winds led to to a rare drop in pollution, with residents breathing the cleanest air in four years before conditions quickly deteriorated.

Pollution levels often surge in winter months, as lower temperatures and a drop in wind speed traps pollutants in the air for longer.

India's Pledge at COP26 on Point. But Need of the Hour is Focus on Rapid Relief from Toxic Air


A day ahead of Diwali 2021, the average air quality in the national capital had slid into the 'very poor' category. (File picture)

India has in the recent past taken several quick measures to prevent air pollution, including the replacement of solid fuels with gas for cooking.

NEWS18.COM
LAST UPDATED:NOVEMBER 05, 2021

Environment experts have lauded India for doing more than most countries, including China, and reducing emissions. According to them, the country’s pledge at COP26 to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 is “real climate action". The promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tackle climate change at the 26th international climate conference in Glasgow included achieving carbon neutrality by 2070.

While the experts said that by making the pledge, India has put the ball in the court of developed nations to fulfil the promise $1 trillion of climate finance, the move does not bring relief from the immediate problem of toxic air that the people, especially those in the national capital, are having to breath in.

Also Read: Data From 5 Years Shows AQI Shot up to Toxic Levels Each Diwali, Delhiites Learnt No Lessons

The Air Quality Index deteriorates to a new low each year around the months of October-December as stubble burning from neighbouring states intensifies and people violate norms and burst firecrackers to celebrate the festival of Diwali. This year, too, despite a Supreme Court order, several appeals by the Delhi government and other efforts in place to keep a check on bursting of firecrackers during Diwali, several areas in the city reported violations as people burst crackers all through Thursday.

On Friday morning, Delhiites woke up to a thick blanket of smog and a worrying AQI of 617. People from several parts of the city and its suburbs complained of itchy throat and watery eyes. The city’s overall air quality index was 451 at 8 am and entered the “severe" category, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality forecast agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). At around 3am, the air quality at Janpath in Delhi was in ‘hazardous’ category with PM2.5 at 655.07.

Modi, The Economist said in a piece on Friday, highlighted at Glasgow that while poor countries bear a mere fraction of the blame for creating the world’s climate mess, some, such as India, have done better at keeping environmental commitments than many rich countries.

As per the report, India, with 18% of the world’s population, is estimated to have caused just 3% of accumulated CO2 emissions. Yet even as Indian leaders repeatedly—and sometimes justifiably—take the moral high ground on climate change’s long-term challenges, their people continue to suffer and die from its immediate, home-grown causes, it says.

The Economist further points out that the problem is not faced by Delhi alone. “In winter the Himalayas trap the combined exhaust of the 600m people who populate the sprawling Indo-Gangetic Plain. From diesel pumps for irrigation to cremation pyres and from coal-fired power plants to gas-guzzling suvs, the smoke combines in a toxic stew that can hang for weeks in the season’s typically windless conditions. Big provincial cities such as Lucknow and Patna are just as sooty as Delhi. So are many rural areas,” it says.

Climate change activist and director general of Centre for Science and Environment Sunita Narain has said that India has laid out its roadmap, and targets of non-fossil fuel, renewable energy (RE) and reduction of carbon intensity are all pathways to get one billion tonnes carbon emission reduction by 2030.

“RE target of 50 per cent, non-fossil fuel 500 GW; carbon intensity of 45 per cent are all pathways to get to 1 billion tonnes carbon emission reduction by 2030. India has laid out its roadmap; this is more than OECD and certainly what China has done. India enhanced NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) is a challenge to the world to step up," she said in a tweet.

Along with this ready roadmap, India has taken several other quick measures to prevent air pollution, including the replacement of solid fuels with gas for cooking.

It has also ramped up its solar and wind power capacity and, backed by Modi, tightened the vehicle-emissions rules. With a goal to cut pollution in 122 cities by up to 30% in the next five years, the central government in 2019 also launched a National Clean Air Programme.

Delhi wakes to post-Diwali smog


At various hotspots, levels of harmful PM 2.5 particles topped 400 on average on the air quality index 

Prakash SINGH AFP
Issued on: 05/11/2021 - 

New Delhi (AFP) – New Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog on Friday after an overnight barrage of firecrackers for the Hindu festival of Diwali in the Indian megacity, despite a ban on selling them.

At various hotspots, levels of harmful PM 2.5 particles topped 400 on average on the air quality index.

The figure is more than 15 times higher than the safe daily limit set by the World Health Organization.

India's top court has banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the local government urged people to celebrate Diwali without them.

But many of the capital's roughly 20 million residents still got hold of them, setting them off all over the city until the early hours of the morning for the annual Festival of Lights.


People make their way along a street amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi

 Prakash SINGH AFP

Firecracker smoke combines with industrial and vehicle emissions and farm fires to create a putrid grey-yellow soup that envelops Delhi and other Indian cities in winter.

Sandeep, a Delhi resident, told AFP on Friday he did not think the government was doing enough to counter the pollution challenge.

"I think a great deal (more) needs to be done," he said while on a morning walk at Delhi's Lodhi Gardens.

A 2020 report by Swiss organisation IQAir found 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi ranked the most polluted capital globally.

The same year, the Lancet said 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019, including almost 17,500 in the capital.

© 2021 AFP

Beijing shuts roads, playgrounds amid heavy smog after coal spike

Issued on: 05/11/2021 - 

Schools in Beijing -- which will host the Winter Olympics in February -- were ordered to stop physical education classes and outdoor activities due to the smog

 JADE GAO AFP

Beijing (AFP) – Highways and school playgrounds in Beijing were closed Friday due to heavy pollution, as China ramps up coal production and faces scrutiny of its environmental record at make-or-break international climate talks

World leaders have gathered in Scotland this week for COP26 negotiations billed as one of the last chances to avert catastrophic climate change, though Chinese President Xi Jinping made a written address instead of attending in person.

China -- the world's largest emitter of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change -- has ramped up coal output after supply chains in recent months were roiled by an energy crunch owing to strict emissions targets and record prices for the fossil fuel.

A thick haze of smog blanketed swathes of northern China on Friday, with visibility in some areas reduced to less than 200 metres (yards), according to the country's weather forecaster.

Authorities in Beijing blamed the pollution on "unfavourable weather conditions and regional pollution spread" as schools in the capital -- which will host the Winter Olympics in February -- were ordered to stop physical education classes and outdoor activities.

Stretches of highways to major cities including Shanghai, Tianjin and Harbin were closed Friday due to poor visibility.

Pollutants detected Friday morning by a monitoring station at the US embassy in Beijing reached levels defined as "very unhealthy" for the general population.

Rapid industrialisation has made China no stranger to air pollution

 JADE GAO AFP

Levels of small particulate matter, or PM 2.5, which penetrate deep into human lungs and cause respiratory illnesses hovered around 220 -- far above the WHO recommended limit of 15.

The smog is likely to persist until at least Saturday evening, according to city officials.

China said earlier this week it had increased daily coal production by more than one million tonnes to ease an energy shortage that had forced factories to close in recent months.

Rapid industrialisation has made China no stranger to air pollution, although severe smog episodes have become less frequent in recent years as authorities have increasingly prioritised environmental protection.

Beijing has pledged to bring emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide to a peak by 2030 and reduce them to net zero by 2060.

China hit back Wednesday at criticism by Joe Biden, saying "actions speak louder than words" after the US president accused Beijing of not showing leadership to combat climate change.

China generates about 60 percent of its energy from burning coal.

© 2021 AFP

Editorial: SoCal is losing its fight against smog.
have to turn around in 2021

by The Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, 

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

For a brief moment this year, Southern Californians got a glimpse of what clean air could look and feel like. During the first COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns in the spring, the dramatic drop in vehicle pollution combined with stormy weather to help clear out the region's notoriously smoggy, hazy air, leaving blue skies and crisp vistas.

It didn't last long. In fact, 2020 ended up being one of Southern California's smoggiest years in decades, The LA Times' Tony Barboza recently reported. There were 157 days when the region exceeded the federal health standard for ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog. That's the most since 1997. The region has also had more than 30 days of excessive fine-particle pollution, or soot.

The overages weren't a fluke. Southern California's air quality has been on the decline for several years now, with the worst effects felt in San Bernardino, Riverside and other inland communities. Despite decades of emissions control regulations and programs, the region is losing the fight for clean air. Far too many residents still live with unhealthy levels of pollution that can permanently damage children's lungs and raise adults' risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The region will not meet a Clean Air Act deadline to reduce ozone levels by the end of 2022, which could lead to the loss of federal transportation funding and other penalties. Even more troubling, the trend line suggests Southern California will struggle to cut smog-forming emissions enough to meet a more stringent 2031 standard. The increase in unhealthful air appears to be linked to hotter weather—heat and sunlight transform certain pollutants into ozone—and smoke from wildfires. Climate change is driving both factors, and they're only going to become more pronounced in the coming years.

Southern California has to turn the tide on air pollution. It won't be easy, but 2021 will be a crucial year to adopt new regulations and policies that set the region on the course for clean air. The coming year will also test the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the region's air quality regulator. The district's governing board, which is made up of local elected officials, has too often bent to industry demands and delayed necessary regulations to cut emissions. Now those policies are coming up for a vote.

One of the most important regulations will target oil refineries. The proposed rule would get rid of an ineffective cap-and-trade-like system for curtailing refinery pollution and instead require these facilities to install the best available pollution control equipment. This proposal has been on the table for more than five years, but the oil industry has fought successfully to delay it—and it's likely to lobby to weaken the current proposal. But the AQMD board has to realize there is no more time to waste. The rule, which would affect about 10 refineries, would cut more smog-forming emissions than any other regulation being considered by the district.


The AQMD board will also consider a first-of-its-kind regulation to cut pollution associated with warehouses. The goods movement industry is a huge source of emissions in the region, from diesel-belching cargo ships at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the trucks and trains that haul containers to warehouses in the Inland Empire and beyond. The district has direct authority to regulate stationary sources of pollution, such as power plants, factories and refineries. But more than 80% of the region's smog-forming pollution is created by vehicles, particularly diesel trucks, which are regulated by the state and federal governments.

Although the AQMD may not be able to regulate trucks directly, it can—and should—regulate facilities that are magnets for them. The proposed rule would require warehouses to reduce the emissions associated with their facilities by, for example, installing electric vehicle charging stations, buying low-emission or zero-emission equipment and encouraging their freight customers to use clean trucks. Again, the proposal is likely to face strong pushback from the logistics industry. But the AQMD board shouldn't be swayed. E-commerce has boomed during the pandemic. This is an industry that can afford to pay more to help clean the air it is tainting in the smoggiest region of the country.

Likewise, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach delayed implementation of a fee on cargo that was supposed to help pay for cleaner trucks, citing the economic uncertainty of the pandemic. The ports now have record traffic; there's no reason to wait on the fee or the transition to cleaner transport.

Southern California cannot solve its smog problem alone. The California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are crucial partners because they regulate the region's biggest polluters. The EPA under the Trump administration largely abandoned its clean-air responsibilities; we hope the incoming Biden administration will recognize how much Southern California needs an ally in the effort to shift to a zero-emissions future.

We've seen how beautiful that future can be. Regulators need to step up to help make it a reality.


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os Angeles began 2020 with a clean-air streak but ended with its worst smog in decades

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