BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- An expert from the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said on Tuesday that if the weather does not
change dramatically in the next three days, Beijing will have a "fairly good"
level of air quality on Friday, the opening day of the Olympics.
The photo taken on Aug. 5, 2008 shows
the clear sky above the National Stadium, namely the Bird's Nest, in
Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua Photo/Li Ziheng) Photo
Gallery>>>
It might rain on Wednesday and Thursday, said Wang
Zifa, a researcher with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of CAS, a
government research organization.
Using a multi-model system, Wang said he was able to
forecast Beijing's air quality 72 hours ahead.
He said that even if the air is humid and still on
Friday, the city is unlikely to have heavy pollution. "I think the city's
comprehensive and strict measures to control pollution have paid off," he
said
The capital's air quality on Tuesday was categorized
as "fairly good" with an average pollution index from 27 monitoring stations
standing at 88, slightly higher than the 83 recorded on Monday.
A pollution reading below 50 is classed as
"excellent," 51 to 100 "fairly good," 101 to 200 "slightly polluted," 201 to 300
"poor" and over 301 is "hazardous," according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of
Environmental Protection.
The deputy director of the bureau, Du Shaozhong, said
that Beijing had three days with "excellent" air quality and two days with
"fairly good" air quality so far this month.
The photo taken on Aug. 1, 2008 shows
the National Stadium, namely the Bird's Nest, standing with its reflection
image under the blue sky in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
He said the Ministry of Environmental Protection has
issued emergency plans for "extremely adverse weather conditions". However, the
ministry did not see any need to activate this plan since the weather has not
been "extremely adverse" so far.
Environmental experts said in the next few days,
Beijing will have wind coming from the south. They suggested that southern
neighboring areas including Baoding and Langfang in Hebei Province and Tianjin
should strengthen pollution controls.
As of Tuesday, Beijing had 154 days with fairly good
or excellent air quality, accounting for 70.6 percent of the days in 2008.
BEIJING Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing Olympics official
said here Monday that athletes, officials and spectators will have good air
quality during the Games thanks to the pollution control measures in the past
decade.
Being asked the reason for low visibility on Monday,
Sun Weide, a media official with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th
Olympic Games (BOCOG), said he learnt from the city's meteorological
administration that the air quality was grade two with pollution index under
100. It was the high humidity, a natural phenomenon, that reduced visibility. Full story
