Special report:
2008 Olympic
Games
SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- All 11 major cities
in Hebei Province, which surrounds the Olympic host city of Beijing, reported
more "blue sky" days -- or days with fairly good air quality -- in 2007 than the
previous year, latest government statistics show.
"Blue sky" days in these cities averaged 313 last
year, 14 more than in 2006 and 141 more than five years ago, figures from the
Hebei Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau show.
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A child waves Chinese national flag at
the Forbidden City in Beijng, capital of China, Dec. 31, 2007. Beijing,
the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games, saw its 246th blue sky in 2007
Monday, narrowly fulfilling its annual target of 245. (Xinhua Photo/Liu
Jie)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
Major indices of air pollution decreased last year in
the cities, said Yang Zhiming, deputy director of the bureau.
The provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, registered 289
"blue sky" days last year, two more than in 2006.
The other 10 cities all saw more than 300 such days,
with the highest measured at 354 in the seaside city of Qinhuangdao, 36 more
than in 2006. Qinhuangdao, about 280 kilometers east of Beijing, is one of the
five football venues for the Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games.
Yang attributed the increase of "blue skies" mainly
to the government's efforts to cut pollution and protect the environment in the
past year, in addition to more windy and rainy days, which are favorable for
diffusion of atmospheric pollutants.
Experts say under certain weather conditions,
pollutants from Beijing's neighboring regions will spread to the capital, and
vice versa.
The local governments of Hebei, Shandong and Shanxi
provinces, Tianjin Municipality and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have drawn
up measures to improve air quality during the high-profile international sports
event, such as installing air-quality monitoring networks focused on
heavily-polluting businesses.
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Beijing citizens take photos near the
"Bird Nest"- the Olympics National Stadium and "Water Cube"-the National
Aquatics Center against the background of a clear sky on Sunday. A strong
cold front dispersed a persistent fog since Friday and brought the city a
much-awaited "blue-sky" day on Sunday, which means the capital city meets
the target of 245 days with fairly good air quality, or two thirds of the
year.(Photo: China foto press)
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In Hebei, efforts to keep pollutants out of the
capital include the installation of 34 desulphurization systems in power plants,
construction of 23 central heating facilities that would help cut coal use, and
56 anti-pollution projects in the province's chemical industries, said Ji
Zhenhai, director of the provincial environment bureau. The projects could
reduce Hebei's annual emissions of about 550,000 tons of sulphur dioxide, he
said.
Meanwhile, Hebei has started to build air-quality
monitoring stations in six major cities near Beijing -- Langfang, Baoding,
Tangshan, Zhangjiakou, Shijiazhuang and Chengde -- to collect data on emissions
of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, carbon monoxide and other chemicals.
Beijing narrowly attains "blue sky"
goal
BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Beijing, the host city of the
2008 Olympic Games, saw its 246th blue sky in 2007 Monday, narrowly fulfilling
its annual target of 245 by just one day more.
A strong cold front dispersed a persistent fog Friday and
brought the city a much-awaited "blue-sky" day since Sunday. Full story
Complaints of dust from Beijing
construction sites down 30%
BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has seen a 30 percent
decrease in residents' complaints about airborne debris around construction
sites in the first 11 months of this year compared with a year earlier, the
municipal environment authorities said Sunday.
The city fined 7,467 construction sites in 2007 for
failing to control dust, involving a total of about 10 million yuan (1.3 million
U.S. dollars), according to the municipal environmental watchdog. The city also
fined more than 4,000 illegal outdoor barbeques and rubbish incineration
facilities. Full story
