For the first time, Beijing has been placed on high alert “red” to air pollution. An unprecedented measure which involves stopping all outdoor work sites.
The episode of “airpocalypse” which rages in China does not weaken. The Chinese capital, Beijing, has just launched its very first “red alert” (maximum level) to air pollution. The municipality’s announcement comes as the megalopolis is expected to remain shrouded in a thick brownish haze (smog) from Tuesday to Thursday, say the authorities.
Stopping all outdoor construction sites
The red alert notice, issued after already several days of smog last week, involves the shutdown of all construction sites outside. Restrictions have also been imposed on the movement of certain types of vehicles in the metropolitan area, which has 22.5 million inhabitants. “Trucks transporting rubble, cement trucks, vehicles loaded with gravel and other heavy goods vehicles are prohibited,” the authorities announced.
Finally, schools in Beijing will suspend all their outdoor activities for three days. “Kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools will have to suspend their outdoor activities from Monday to Wednesday,” the state agency New China said, citing the municipal education bureau.
Residents already invited to stay at home
On November 30, the opening day of the Paris conference on climate change (COP21), Beijing was placed on “orange alert” for pollution, the second highest level. The City had called on the inhabitants to stay at home.
To justify this drastic measure, the megalopolis indicated that it recorded a concentration rate of PM 2.5 microparticles in the air of 600, which is 24 times higher than the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
As for the explanations, the authorities recalled that gas emissions are traditionally on the rise in northern China in winter due to district heating, and the weakness of the winds these days has meant that the polluted air is not evacuated. not.
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