Beijing Lifts Smog Red Alert But More Smog Expected This December

Beijing’s authorities ordered limits on cars, factories and construction sites during a for smog from Tuesday through midday Thursday. “But there were no restrictions on electric cars”.

Monday’s alert imposed strict measures to cut smog levels, including prohibiting both conventional and hybrid cars from driving on alternating days. Beijing’s vehicle restrictions of odd and even number plates will last until noon on Thursday.

Regardless of the electric auto market’s potential, Peter Ford, The Christian Science Monitor’s Beijing correspondent, describes the blinding pollution as an immediate threat. The result was a drop of 30 percent in the general pollution level, which means that the air quality in China’s largest city is still sub-par, but at least it’s getting better. It was the worst day of air quality since the new system of alerts was introduced by the Chinese government.

Online orders for prophylactics have soared after parts of the Chinese capital – formerly known as Peking – were put in lockdown earlier this week to protect people from its deadly air.

Speaking of the costs involved in reducing emissions, Li Jisheng, head of Taiyuan environment inspection squad said, “A 300,000-kilowatt power station can save 200,000 yuan each day if it stops using desulfurization and dedusting equipment”. The government issued only an orange alert, however, one tier below red – possibly because China’s president was at the opening of the Paris talks, an inconvenient time for news photos of his masked countrymen to appear across the globe.

The first red alert for smog in Beijing was lifted on Thursday as wind cleared up the sky, but officials will now step up anti-smog efforts, rather than just wait for the wind to blow. Electricity generation, though still powered largely by coal in China, does offer a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as recent studies about EV use in America’s dirtiest grids confirm.

“Lately, the smog is really serious that folks are not willing to go outside, so they phone us to inquire”, said Li Hui, owner of several BYD auto dealers, which focus on environmentally friendly automobiles.