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Beijing air pollution

Many Chinese metropolises had imposed car purchase restrictions to ease traffic congestion and reduce pollution. Photo: AP

Beijing out to drive up much-needed consumption by adding more NEV number plates

Beijing is set to issue 20,000 new energy passenger cars with number plates to be used by families from Sunday.

20 Jul 2024 - 6:00PMvideocam

Editorial | Link between clear air and fewer suicides is another reason to act

17 Mar 2024 - 1:14AMvideocam

Shocking video captures moment fatal blast destroys building near Beijing

13 Mar 2024 - 11:13PMvideocam

Chinese team tests lung treatment that may be first to reverse COPD damage

Paper follows statement by Zuo Wei that ‘stem cell and progenitor cell-based regenerative medicine may be the biggest, if not the only, hope to cure COPD’.

15 Feb 2024 - 3:16PMvideocam

In a Chinese study, 17 patients with varying stages of COPD who received the team’s therapy had no serious adverse side effects and the team did not observe signs of tumour formation in the patients six months after transplant. Photo: Shutterstock

Smoggy Mumbai, behind only Beijing in air quality, issues construction rules

Mumbai has asked building sites to use barricades and banned the burning of rubbish on open ground in a bid to fight worsening air quality.

26 Oct 2023 - 4:35PMvideocam

Beijing detains waste firm workers in fake air pollution data case

Eight people held after real-time sulphur dioxide readings found to be manipulated.

23 Jul 2023 - 9:00PMvideocam

Exclusive | China, Mongolia to fight sandstorms amid calls to curb economic, ecological harm

President Xi Jinping demanded urgent action last week after sandstorms cloaked China’s northern regions in March and April, with a Chinese delegation set to visit Mongolia from later this month to jointly work on solutions.

15 Jun 2023 - 2:28PMvideocam

Sandstorms typically hit Beijing and surrounding areas in the spring. Photo: AFP

Officials survey state-owned enterprises to aid Xi’s push to Xiongan

Xiongan New Area plan viewed with suspicion because it is not near any regional commercial hub and workers do not want to move from China’s capital, says analyst.

13 Jun 2023 - 6:37PMvideocam

Sandstorm sweeping China hits Japan, Koreans suffer from sore throat

Sandstorm particles were detected for the first time in the northern and western parts of Japan since 2021.

16 Apr 2023 - 3:57PM

Sandstorm strikes Beijing, with more on the way

It is the eighth sandstorm to hit the Chinese capital so far this year, marking the most active spring storm season in a decade.

11 Apr 2023 - 5:58PMvideocam

Spring sandstorms have led to hazy conditions in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE

How a dust storm turned the sun over Beijing a ‘Mars-like’ blue

PM10 particles from cyclone over Mongolia are responsible for the rare phenomenon, caused by the scattering of light.

22 Mar 2023 - 7:25PMvideocam

A rare phenomenon caused by the interaction of dust particles and light caused the sun to appear blue over China’s capital Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo

Spring sandstorms shroud Beijing

22 Mar 2023 - 6:01PM

Asia has world’s worst air quality. Australia, New Zealand some of best: study

Conducted by scientists in Australia and China, the study found that more than 90 per cent of days in southern and eastern Asia had concentrations of dangerous particulate matter exceeding the WHO’s safety limit.

7 Mar 2023 - 10:36AM

China’s environment chief names and shames state-owned pollution cheats

Six state-owned companies in Henan province were found to violate pollution control regulations during a surprise inspection.

22 Feb 2023 - 8:56PMvideocam

China’s Environment Minister Huang Runqiu (front right) conducts an inspection in Henan province to single out companies skirting pollution laws. Photo: Ministry of Ecology and Environment

How wildfire smoke disrupts local weather – and fuels more extreme blazes

Chinese and international researchers examined wildfires in North America and Southeast Asia for clues to the relationship between blazes and the weather.

3 Feb 2023 - 7:19PMvideocam

Fires on the west coast of the United States in 2020 were among those studied by a Chinese-led team looking at how weather conditions and fires affect each other, a subject becoming relevant to more regions around the world. Photo: AFP

The View | India must follow China in showing political will to fight winter smog

India’s capital continues to struggle with air pollution, putting the health of millions at risk as winter brings the prospect of toxic smog. It is imperative that India’s local governments implement policies that improve public health and hold violators accountable.

26 Oct 2022 - 4:30PMvideocam

‘Millions dying due to poor-quality air most of us are breathing’

UN health agency says 99 per cent of planet’s population breathes air exceeding air-quality limits, often rife with particles that penetrate lungs, enter veins and arteries and cause disease.

4 Apr 2022 - 11:13PMvideocam

Beijing hit by smog on eve of Olympics

25 Jan 2022 - 3:00PM

01:29

China targets companies and traffic to improve air quality for Winter Olympics

Beijing and neighbouring province of Hebei given powers to close businesses and restrict vehicle use during the Games.

24 Jan 2022 - 8:11PMvideocam

Editorial | Battle for clean Beijing air will be a long one

Blue skies over the capital and the meeting of national air quality standards for the first time have been celebrated, but the struggle to fight pollution while maintaining steady economic growth is far from over.

7 Jan 2022 - 5:25AMvideocam

Chinese capital makes clean air grade for first time

Results reflect two decades of efforts but more needs to be done, official says.

4 Jan 2022 - 9:30PMvideocam

Beijing has reported major gains in its war on air pollution. Photo: Simon Song

China set for ‘supply-side shock’ as factories close for Beijing Olympics

Efforts to reduce smog have been extended to 64 cities this winter, plus Beijing, which hosts next year’s Winter Olympics. Analysts warn factory shutdowns could weigh on the economy.

14 Dec 2021 - 6:25PMvideocam

Efforts to reduce smog during next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics could hurt industrial production. Photo: EPA-EFE

‘Artificial rain eased Beijing pollution’ during Communist Party celebrations

Cloud-seeding operation was launched over suburban Beijing and surrounds hours before the tightly choreographed event. Artificial rain reduced PM2.5 pollutants by more than two-thirds and improved air quality, Tsinghua University researchers say.

6 Dec 2021 - 8:01AMvideocam

Deciphering China’s relationship with coal as it aims for carbon neutrality

Deciphering China’s relationship with coal is key to understanding the nation’s path towards carbon neutrality, particularly as the economy’s addiction to the fossil fuel runs up against President Xi Jinping’s carbon neutrality pledge.

11 Nov 2021 - 11:33AM

Beijing air quality hits 'very unhealthy' levels

5 Nov 2021 - 11:14PM

01:45

Beijing area has its lowest ever PM2.5 levels after air quality push

Levels of lung-damaging particles in and around the capital reach new low, although are still above the national target and WHO’s recommendation.

19 Aug 2021 - 7:00AMvideocam

Official air quality data showed progress for Beijing and neighbouring Hebei, although they had yet to reach the national target. Photo: Getty Images

Climate change could add to a month to Beijing’s summer: Greenpeace

As southwest China reels from floods and landslides, report shows how climate damage and risk in country’s most dense regions have changed over 60 years.

14 Jul 2021 - 9:57PMvideocam

US embassy in Beijing turns attention to ozone levels

The decision to start publishing PM2.5 levels on Twitter helped push the Chinese authorities into becoming more transparent

25 Jun 2021 - 6:20AMvideocam

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Beijing air pollution

The Chinese capital has for many years suffered from serious air pollution. Primary sources of pollutants include exhaust emission from Beijing's more than five million motor vehicles, coal burning in neighbouring regions, dust storms from the north and local construction dust. A particularly severe smog engulfed the city for weeks in early 2013, elevating public awareness to unprecedented levels and prompting the government to roll out emergency measures.

last updated:

9 September, 2024