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Chinese city paralysed by smog Chinese city paralysed by smog
(about 2 hours later)
Choking smog has all but shut down one of north-eastern China's largest cities, forcing schools to suspend classes, blocking traffic and closing the airport in the country's first major air pollution crisis of the winter. Choking smog paralysed a north-eastern Chinese city on Monday as visibility fell to under 10 metres in places and pollution readings spiked to 40 times the recommended daily level.
An air quality index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres, reached a reading of 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre in some parts of Harbin, the gritty capital of north-eastern Heilongjiang province and home to some 11 million people. A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20. All highways across Heilongjiang province were shut, while its capital Harbin - home to 11 million people - closed an airport and all primary and middle schools, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The smog not only forced all primary and middle schools to suspend classes on Monday, but shut the airport and some public bus routes, the official Xinhua news agency reported, blaming the emergency on the first day of the heating being turned on for winter. Visibility was reportedly reduced to 10 metres and the smog was expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Meteorological authorities in Jilin and Liaoning provinces also issued a red alert for thick smog or fog.
Air quality in Chinese cities is of increasing concern to the country's stability-obsessed leadership because it plays into popular resentment over political privilege and rising inequality in the world's second-largest economy. In Harbin, the worst-hit city, measurements of PM2.5 - the smallest particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres - reached 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre in places, according to the official China News Service, surpassing the peak of 900 that shocked Beijing residents in January's "airpocalypse".
Domestic media have run stories describing the expensive air purifiers government officials enjoy in their homes and offices, alongside reports of special organic farms so the elite can avoid the recurrent food safety scandals in the country. It is not clear if equipment is able to register levels over 1,000. The World Health Organisation's recommended level for daily exposure is just 25.
The government has announced plans over the years to tackle pollution but has made little apparent progress. Officials blamed the first day of winter heating in the city - leading to increased coal burning - low winds and the burning of crop stubble as well as vehicle emissions. Others said a sudden temperature change and humidity might have contributed.
Users of China's popular Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging site reacted with both anger and bitter sarcasm over Harbin's air pollution. Authorities warned that cities across Heilongjiang will have visibility of under 100 metres in the next 24 hours.
"After years of effort, the wise and hard-working people of Harbin have finally managed to skip both the middle-class society and the communist society stages, and have now entered a fairyland society!" wrote one user. Visibility across most of neighbouring Jilin province was less than 500 metres on Monday, Xinhua reported. Trains were delayed, most highways closed and all flights from Changchun airport delayed.
Other parts of north-eastern China also experienced severe smog, including Tangshan, two hours east of Beijing, and Changchun, the capital of Jilin province which borders Heilongjiang. "Many drivers cannot see my gestures because of the smog. I sometimes have to rely on shouting to let them know my guidance," a traffic policeman in Changchun told the official news agency.
Last week, Beijing city released a colour-coded alert system for handling air pollution emergencies, to include temporarily stopping construction work, factory production, outdoor barbecues and the setting off of fireworks. Shenyang in Liaoning and Tangshan, 90 miles (150 km) east of Beijing, was also affected.
Beijing suffered its own smog emergency last winter when the PM2.5 surpassed 900 on one particularly bad day in January. "Air pollution in China has blockaded the whole of the eastern area; it's not only Beijing suffering from smog," said Huang Wei, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace in China. "If you look at Beiing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong, they are tackling coal consumption. The north-eastern part of China also needs to react by reducing consumption."
She added: "I think compared to two years ago, people are more aware of the health problems that can be caused by air pollution and are calling for faster solutions."
A survey by the Pew Research Centre this year found 47% of those questioned cited air pollution as a very big problem - up from 36% last year.
PM2.5 is particularly dangerous because the matter is small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Last week the WHO's cancer research agency officially classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic.
China remains heavily dependent on coal, which accounts for 68.4% of energy usage. A plan released last month by the state council, the country's cabinet, stresses the need to cut consumption, with a target of below 65% by 2017. It also aims to cut the density of small particulate matter by at least 10% in major cities.
Beijing's own proposals will see the government spending 200 to 300 billion yuan (£20bn-£30bn) to cut PM2.5 density in the city by 25% from 2012 levels.
Emergency measures will include closing schools and kindergartens and ordering cars with even- and odd-numbered licence plates off the roads on alternate days.
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