Beijing and Delhi: 2 cities and 2 ways of dealing with smog

The ADB said that poor air quality had reached such a serious level that it was “jeopardising health and sustainable growth”. If this rapidly growing power truly wants to impress the world, it could stop polluting everyone’s atmosphere.

The loan will target Beijing city and surrounding areas including Hebie and Tianjin.

“[Our] assistance will help reduce emissions and strengthen the environment regulatory framework and capacity of environmental monitoring and enforcement”.

The $300 million accompanies $164 million of aid pledged by the German state bank KfW.

When the red alert was declared, the US Embassy’s air pollution monitor in Beijing said the intensity of the tiny particles known as PM 2.5 were at 291 micrograms per cubic metre.

It remains unclear how Beijing will respond to future airborne smog peaks, but other cities in the region followed its lead this week by issuing their own red alerts as pollution levels climbed even higher than those seen in the capital.

Beijing issued a first 3-day pollution “red alert” on Monday, and set out measures to combat the hazardous smog, including limiting the use of conventional petrol-powered and hybrid cars to alternate days.

The miasma came as President Xi Jinping attended a critical meeting on climate change in Paris, a potentially embarrassing coincidence that underscored China’s struggle to control the pollution that contributes to both its chronic smog and global warming.

The poisonous smog in Beijing is caused by the burning of coal for industry and heating, and huge amounts of dust from the city’s many construction sites.

Before the good news could be savored, the red alert for air quality went out on December 8 as contaminants hit levels 1o times above what the World Health Organization considers stable, CNN reported. China is taking steps to increase the share of renewables in its electricity generation, but a report by the CBC noted four new coal-fired plants are opening every week to meet the country’s energy demands.