Government needs better understanding of health

Beijing expected to enjoy return of blue sky by Sunday

By Zheng Jinran

Residents in Beijing are expected to see the lingering smog begin to disappear on Saturday and be able breathe clean air on Sunday, offering relief from the polluted air that has engulfed the capital since Dec 30.

Other smog-engulfed provinces like Hebei, Henan and Shandong will see improvements on Sunday when winds come from the north, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

In addition to the smog, the capital has experienced more hazy days.

"From Dec 16 to Jan 4, Beijing had nine heavily hazy days, the second-most since 1981," said Zhang Yingjuan, a researcher from the Beijing Meteorological Center.

The average during the period is only 0.9 hazy days, she said.

A lack of wind and high humidity have been suggested as the major reasons for the lingering polluted air and heavy smog in recent days, not only in Beijing, but in other northern provinces such as Hebei, Shandong and Henan, Qiao Lin, head of the center, said on Thursday.

Visibility has been lowered to 200 meters in some regions, Qiao added.

At least five other cities, including Chengdu, Sichuan province, saw severe smog on Thursday, which was expected to linger due to a lack of wind, according to the provincial environment monitoring center.

In northern regions, 32 cities such as Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, were under the highest red alert on Wednesday, while Chengdu issued the second-highest orange alert effective from Thursday.