Lunar New Year fireworks blamed as heavy smog blankets Chinese capital
- Beijing and dozens of other cities record high levels of deadly particles with air quality indexes of more than 200
- Many factories are shut for the holiday but the authorities say firecrackers set off to celebrate the Year of the Ox are responsible
Beijing and North China were blanketed in heavy smog for a third consecutive day on Saturday, as the government blamed fireworks set off to celebrate the Year of the Ox.
Serious air pollution has been recorded in several provinces in northern and central China, which the environment ministry said was unlikely to disperse until Monday.
As of midday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) released by the US embassy in China showed that the average concentrations of lung-damaging particles known as PM2.5 had reached a “very unhealthy” level of 232 in Beijing.
On Thursday and Friday, 47 cities across China reported heavy air pollution, with an AQI of over 200. Thirteen of these, including Beijing and Baoding and Shijiazhuang in the neighbouring province of Hebei reported severe air contamination with an AQI reading higher than 300, according to the environment authorities. In Xianyang, a city in Shaanxi, the AQI hit 500 on Friday morning.
“The burning of firecrackers and fireworks have a notable influence on the air quality,” the ministry said on its website.
