The authorities have begun publishing data on air pollution in the Chinese capital
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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The Beijing authorities began publishing detailed data on atmospheric pollution in the Chinese capital.
This is the answer to numerous doubts about the completeness and truthfulness of the officially published information of the Beijing Meteorological Service, which provokes the censure of many Pekingans.
Earlier in the Chinese capital, only data on the level of air pollution with particles larger than 10 microns in diameter was published, the so-called PM10 index.
However, on Saturday, the site of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center has a PM2.5 indicator, which reflects air pollution by suspended particles with a diameter of 2.5 to 10 microns.
These much smaller particles can penetrate into the bronchi and lungs and are a more objective criterion for assessing the degree of air pollution.
Last year, a public campaign for the reform of the meteorological system was launched in Beijing, which received broad support thanks to the Internet.
The US Embassy in Beijing every hour posts on the Twitter network data on PM2.5, and in general its weather forecasts in the capital sometimes differ greatly from official Chinese.
Danger to health
Now, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center has started hourly publication of its weather data on its website, including the PM2.5 level.
As pointed out by observers, air pollution in Beijing has long been a concern of the population, and the authorities cause considerable problems, including the loss of public confidence.
Beijingers are increasingly demanding more information about the degree of air pollution and its impact on their health.
Beijing is located on the plain, surrounded on three sides by mountains, which leads to frequent occurrence of smog in the city, which also suffocates from vehicle exhaust.
The Chinese agency Xinhua quotes the words of the employee of the Bureau of Environmental Protection Yu Jianhua that the city authorities in the last 10 years have been actively fighting to reduce the level of air pollution to 100 micrograms of PM10 particles per cubic meter, which is the state standard in China.
However, during the past year PM10 in the Chinese capital averaged 120 micrograms per cubic meter.