China endure worst smog of year

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said “unfavourable” weather was to blame for the peak in pollution, according to Reuters.

In Beijing, the capital of the world’s most populous country and its No. 1 source of planet-warming carbon compounds, Greenpeace China called the thick haze the worst pollution of the year.

At 9pm on Monday, the Central Pollution Control Board monitors showed PM 2.5 levels in the “severe” category with Anand Vihar showing 480 mcg/cubic m, Mandir Marg 422, R K Puram 442 and Punjabi Bagh 456.

According to Tuesday’s state-run “China Daily” newspaper, authorities in Beijing have ordered the closure of 2,100 highly polluting industries, while other factories were instructed to reduce work significantly.

Seven of the 12 monitoring sites in downtown Beijing detected PM2.5 density at over 600, 24 times the standard deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. In 2013, pollution in Shanghai reached off-the-charts levels, forcing children and the elderly to stay indoors and cancelling flights and sporting events. Though the young, elderly and sick are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, levels this high effect even the healthiest of people. China’s cities are among the world’s dirtiest after three decades of explosive economic growth that led to construction of hundreds of coal-fired power plants and the spread of automobile ownership.

Schoolchildren were forced to stay indoors rather than playing outside as heavy smog engulfed the city, reducing visibility and hiding the Chinese capital’s skyline. However, unlike in Beijing, Indian officials didn’t issue any public warnings about the smog.

Early morning fog delayed many trains in New Delhi.

The environmental woes came after Chinese Pesident Xi Jinping took the stage at crucial global talks aiming to limit risky climate change. China outlined a series of climate pledges in September, including implementing a carbon trading system and prioritizing renewable energy.

While air quality plummeted in Beijing, representatives of the governments of more than 190 countries, including China, were meeting in Paris for the COP21 climate talks, which began Monday. The initiative seeks to bring solar power to people across India who don’t now have access to electricity.

“Just because technology exists does not mean it is affordable and accessible”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in the Financial Times on Sunday. “This will be the foundation of the new economy of the new century”.