Our UK weather warnings relate to Wind and rain this December, but in China, still, calm and foggy weather is causing health problems and city issues as the annual Smog returns to Beijing.
As the UK suffers from winter storms such as #StormDesmond bringing heavy rain, flooding and gales. This winter, recent Red and Amber alerts in China have been due to calmer but equally worrying weather conditions. This week Beijing issued its first ever red alert for air pollution. China has a four level emergency response system started in Oct 2013. Blue, Yellow, Orange and Red. Local health concerns and global interest in China's CO2 emissions have drawn attention to air quality.One study published in Nature magazine this year estimated that 1.4 million people die each year prematurely from pollution in China. (the population being near 1.4 billion). 2012 figures from WHO (World Health Organisation) suggest 7 million people died from air pollution with over half from indoor pollution (mainly cooking stove fumes) and a few million due to outdoor pollution alone.
The alert system relates to amount of time when levels of pollution will be 'very unhealthy'. According to the Beijing Municipal Severe Air Pollution Emergency Plan the government can issue a red alert when severe air pollution is forecast to extend for more than three days, the orange alert for three days, the yellow alert for two days and the blue alert for one day. This week, levels are set to last for over 3 days.
China's reliance on coal power stations and heavy industry in the regions surrounding Beijing annually lead to these choking conditions, along with traffic pollution and soil particles in the air. Smog is an unofficial term for Smoke/Fog. Weather conditions have confounded the air quality problems.
Beijing sits in a basin surrounded by hills on 3 sides, so air often stagnates in the area. We see this in the UK when high pressure keeps the same still air over us and the airborne pollution slowly settle close to the surface. It has been cold recently with temperatures just above freezing, high humidity and a little bit of sleet on Tuesday. Not enough precipitation to clean the air and there has been hardly any breeze all week. The calm conditions look like staying right into the weekend but colder, drier air does seem to be slowly spreading over Beijing by Thursday, which is when the alert ends.
There have been responses on the ground, with inspection teams begin sent to monitor known polluters in nearby Henan and Hebei provinces. Activities on all construction sites have been banned temporarily and all heavy goods vehicles banned from the capital's roads. In a measure very similar to Athens, vehicles, excluding electric cars, are only allowed on the roads based on odd or even license plate numbers. So allowed on alternate days. The government has laid on free buses to encourage leaving the cars at home. Fireworks and outdoor BBQs are banned.
It has been recommended that schools and kindergartens be closed, with flexible working hours being encouraged for staff of other businesses. The poor visibility has caused many traffic jams anyway, along side closed roads and people continue to wear face masks as the heavy toxic air takes it toll.
China's coal consumption has drawn a lot of attention in Climate talks and this year is the first time the President of China has attended the UN Climate Conference (COP21). This first Red alert came at a significant time.
One interesting forecast area is the LIVING categories. See below. Don't wash your car as it will soon be covered in dust. Air quality is poor it is unsuitable for travel, put a coat on, The Air pollution diffusion index The weather is not suitable for dilution, diffusion and removal of air pollutants. Please try to avoid long time outdoor activities. That category looks set to come up a lot over the next few months.
