After a promising start in the immediate aftermath of the “odd-even” car restrictions and factory closures on July 20th, the air quality in Beijing has slowly deteriorated, as this combination picture shows.
The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau says data shows that improvements have been made, but this is surely not the backdrop that organisers had in mind for the Olympics.
What chance the Beijing Meteorological Bureau pitches in with a little chemical-induced rain to clear the skies in the next few days?
Combination photographs of Beijing skyline taken from July 22 to 27, 2008. Top row L-R July 22 to 24 and bottom row, L-R July 25 to 27 By Claro Cortes IV.
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[...] Reuters have a nice 6-day comparison photo, and suggest the local Met. service may be whistling up some rain in the next few days to give the place a bath; the BBC reports the Olympic Villiage opened yesterday surrounded by flats “shrouded in a pollution haze” and James Fallows comments that the state-run media has started commenting on it (so it’s an ‘official’ problem now), and says new traffic control measures may be considered: … not an even/odd license plate system but an “exact digit only” system. On a date ending in 9, like July 29, only licenses ending in 9 could drive, and so on. In theory this could cut traffic by 90%. [...]
- Posted by { Reid Hodson } :: SmogwatchingWhat else should you expect from Communist China?
- Posted by Freedom SpeaksThe truth is out there … just not from China’s government.
These pictures are worth a million words! Please keep the sequence going.
- Posted by Erik Kirschbaum