BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A long expected rainfall sprinkled most parts of
Beijing and breezes
began to blow away some of the haze and heat Tuesday. "We might expect thunder shower again on Wednesday
night," according to Beijing meteorologists.
Although hot and humid weather and persisting haze have haunted the city for almost a week, its confidence in a "Green Olympics" has even been strengthened.
"I think a lot of things have
been done and the efforts are positive. What I have noticed is a very
definite effort to clean up the city," as Director of Special Events at
Associated Press Bud Weydert said to Chinaview.cn.
" Beijing over the last
several years has got a facelift," added Weydert, who is also the technical
director of Associated Press at the Beijing Olympics Games.
A senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official knows better
about
Beijing's air
quality.
"Most of the people see the
fog, they say it's pollution. But we know here it's not pollution. It's mist, a
fact of the nature," IOC's Olympic Games executive director Gilbert
Felli noted.
Felli expected the air
quality in the city to improve further with more rains in the coming
days.
On last Friday, the
latest data released by the Beijing Municipal Government showed major
air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particle matter
emitted by vehicles, had dropped by 20 percent compared to the earlier
period.
In the current month,
22 out of the first 25 days reached the "blue sky" standard --
days with fairly good air quality, said Li Wei, deputy secretary general of the
Municipal Government.
From the very beginning,
Beijing has promised to
give a "Green Olympics" -- green environment, green stadiums with
energy saving features, and green public that values environment
and healthy lifestyle.
In order to achieve the goal,
Beijing has
rested two
thirds of government vehicles and imposed a ban on private cars with odd-
and even-number plates on alternate days to cut the cars
hitting roads by about 2 million daily.
Beijing
has built
the Olympic Park, a new-style urban landscape which stresses
ecological environment protection as well as reflects the greening and
humanistic cares.
Also, it has closed polluting factories in
the city and some neighboring areas, stopped most construction
projects, and removed vehicles below emission
standards.
The most significant step
over the years, however, was a thorough relocation of the gigantic Capital Steel
company which used to occupy a large area in west Beijing.
"Beijing has been working
very hard to improve the air quality. I think it has effects," said Nick
Mulvenney of Reuters.
"The amount of money has been
put in environmental protection is very impressive," added Mulvenney, who
has been living in Beijingfor two years.
"The most important thing we
have noticed about is
Chinahas been very serious about
it," he said.
BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The capital will get
cooler weather in August and Olympic participants are unlikely to suffer from
the humid, hazy conditions that have affected the Games host city in recent
days, local meteorological authorities said on Monday.
The Olympic Games will open on Aug. 8, one day after
the first day of autumn on the Chinese lunar calendar, which is expected to be
less humid, said Guo Hu, director of the Beijing Meteorological Observatory. Full story
BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- A senior International
Olympic Committee (IOC) official on Tuesday played down concerns about Beijing's
air quality, saying that the possibilities of rescheduling outdoor endurance
events would be low.
With exactly 10 days to go before the Beijing Games
opens on Aug. 8, the organizers still face a daunting challenge - the weather. A
whole week of hot and humid weather with no rainfall and a persistent haze
dampened people's mood and undermined a newly-built confidence in the city's air
quality. Full story
BEIJING, July 16 -- The chance of rain during the opening
ceremony is slimmer than reported earlier, but thunderstorms, high temperatures
and muggy skies still pose a threat to the Beijing Olympics. Full Story
BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's weather authority
launched a hotline Thursday to offer comprehensive meteorological information
about the Olympics to the public. Full Story
