BEIJING — Despite China’s removing 1.5 million cars from the roads, shutting down hundreds of factories and construction sites and bringing much of the city’s economic life to a standstill, Beijing’s air pollution remains at stubbornly high levels.
Just 11 days before the opening of the Summer Olympics, the city’s skyline was shrouded in haze Monday, leaving government officials scrambling for explanations that ranged from statistical anomalies to the 90-degree-plus heat.
“Beijing’s air quality is not up to what the world is expecting from an Olympic host city; the sports teams have reason to be concerned,” said Lo Sze Ping, Greenpeace’s campaign director in Beijing, during a news conference Monday.
He blamed the dirty air on what he characterized as a “develop first, clean up later” approach by the Chinese government.
“It is not good enough,” Lo said.
The state-run China Daily reported Monday that the Chinese government might be forced to implement an “emergency plan” if the air quality hasn’t improved 48 hours before the Games’ Aug. 8 Opening Ceremonies. One possible measure would expand the system that allows cars on the road only on odd or even days, depending on license-plate numbers, to ban as much as 90 percent of private traffic on a given day.
Beijing’s pre-Olympic clampdown on pollution has snuffed out much of the economic life of the region. Along with the license-plate-based restrictions that took effect July 20, the city has banned many out-of-town cars and trucks from its streets and suspended all construction work. Factories hundreds of miles away have been closed.
But air quality hasn’t improved and, for the past few days, has been worse.
Even over the weekend, when traffic was at a minimum, the air-pollution level around the Olympic stadium was more than twice the standard set by the World Health Organization, stuck in the category that the Chinese government terms “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” On Monday, air pollution was barely within the “acceptable” level.
The problem for Beijing is an unfortunate location in a basin surrounded by three mountains that trap pollutants. Since 2001, the number of automobiles in the city roughly has doubled.
Some Olympic teams have chosen to conduct training in Japan and South Korea to minimize exposure to Beijing’s air.
Athletes have been given permission to wear face masks to protect their lungs.
Environmentalists in China, however, worry less about the Aug. 8-24 Olympic period than the aftermath. They fear that, once the Olympic moment passes, Chinese authorities will lose the political will to take tougher environmental measures.
“Beijing has missed a golden opportunity to use the Olympics as a platform for more ambitious programs to clean up the air,” said Lo.
