Varied measures needed to solve air pollution

To solve Beijing's severe air pollution, the authorities should take short-term and long-term measures, says an article on Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts:

This January Beijing continuously suffered from severe air pollution due to thick fog and haze. Since Jan 27 Beijing authorities at all levels have launched emergency measures against heavy air pollution, but PM 2.5, the index number of air particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, continue to rise. It can hardly be expected that the pollution can be eased in a few days, and Beijing suffers from extremely serious air pollution.

To solve heavy air pollution, we should first figure out the cause of the pollution. Extremely adverse weather conditions like thick fog and haze are direct influence on the severe pollution. A still atmosphere makes pollution diffusion extremely difficult and pollutants accumulate quickly in the air. But the primary cause of severe air pollution is the huge amount of pollutant emissions and unsuccessful air pollution management. There are 5.2 million vehicles in Beijing, 23 million tons of coal fire, 6.3 million tons total consumption of petrol and diesel oil, and 180 million square meters of floor space under construction, all of which have recently contributed to the heavy air pollution.

Reducing pollutant emissions should be given top priority in solving Beijing's severe air pollution. We should take short-term as well as long-term measures to deal with this problem.

The meteorological department should strengthen monitoring and cautions regarding air quality, and citizens should enhance self-protection against the air pollution. Moreover, we should reduce using private vehicles to reduce pollutant emissions. Beijing authorities should set up stricter regulation on reducing emissions and establish emergency plans, such as reducing official cars' usage during extremely bad air pollution and compulsorily reduction of pollutant emission. Only with comprehensive measures can Beijing eventually solve the air pollution problem.