How China’s quick blue-sky fixes make pollution worse
Study finds polluters promptly pick up their bad old ways as focus returns to economic output
Blue skies created by short-term air pollution fixing campaigns ahead of political events are usually followed by a dramatic deterioration in air quality – often worse than before – when the events are over, a study has found.
In the first study of the side effects of such clean air drives, the authors also found they are now used widely by local governments across the nation, apparently inspired by similar moves from central authorities ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing in 2014 and a grand military parade a year later, said lead author Guo Feng from Peking University.
Watch: Various parts of China are enveloped in thick, white fog
Local governments often made it their mission to ensure clear skies during major political events, only to focus on economic development afterwards, resulting in the return of the pollution, according to the paper published in the journal China Industrial Economics.
Mainland citizens, growing more frustrated with poor air quality, invent sarcastic descriptions of the drastic steps to clean air for political events, such as “APEC blue” – which convey the impression that the efforts would not be long-lasting.
President Xi Jinping said he checked Beijing’s pollution first thing every morning during the APEC summit, and was confident the blue sky would not be short-lived.
