Beijing Shuts Factories as Smog Levels Surge

Cyclists and bikers stop at a traffic light, as buildings are faintly seen, rear, shrouded in a haze of smog in Beijing. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Beijing temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took 30 percent of government vehicles off roads to combat dangerously high air pollution, state media reported on Tuesday, but the capital's air remained hazardous despite the measures.

Air quality in Beijing has mostly stayed above "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels for about two weeks. On Tuesday, it hit 517 on an index maintained by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which described the pollution as "Beyond Index".

Pollution in Beijing regularly exceeds 500 on an index that measures particulate matter in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers. Above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20.

(Read More: Beijing's Toxic Smog Was Years in the Making)

Earlier this month pollution hit a record, 30-45 times above recommended safety levels, blanketing the city in a thick, noxious cloud that grounded flights and forced people indoors.

Beijing's pollution problem has caused widespread public outrage, alarming the ruling Communist Party, which has failed to rein in pollution despite repeated pledges to get tough.

Premier Wen Jiabao told top leaders at a forum that the "recent fog and haze have affected the people's normal life and health".

"We should take effective measures to speed up the enhancement of our industrial structure, push for energy conservation and build an ecological civilization," Wen was quoted as saying on state television. "Use actions so that the people can see hope."

State news agency Xinhua said the Beijing municipal government held an urgent meeting on Tuesday "for the emergency work of controlling the heavy air pollution".

(Read More: 'Beijing Cough'—Why Residents Are Insulted by Moniker)

"All counties, departments, businesses and institutions should take the lead in suspending the service of 30 percent of official vehicles," Xinhua said. Beijing would also shut down 103 heavily polluting businesses.

But the emergency measures only last until Thursday.

The government has already announced that it would take 180,000 old vehicles off the roads in Beijing this year and control the "excessive" growth of new car sales in the city.

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'Beijing Cough' an Insult to China's Capital, Doctor Says

A top doctor in China said that the term "Beijing cough" is an insult to the Chinese capital.

Professor Pan Xiaochuan of Peking University's School of Public Health said that the term was created by expats and was not an official medical condition.

"Before you can find clear evidence of this [causal link], using the term 'Beijing cough' is an extreme insult to Beijing," Pan told the Economic Information Daily, reported the South China Morning Post.

He went on to say that one would eventually acclimatize to the pollution.

"It's pretty rich for the doctor to insinuate that people living in Beijing — and, more particularly, foreigners — are whiners and exaggerators for complaining about the air in previous weeks," reported GlobalPost's senior correspondent Benjamin Carlson.

(Read More: Beijing's Air Pollution Is 'Worst on Record')

"As any watcher of Chinese news knows, Beijing's air has been off the charts. Respiratory illnesses have already risen. Ordinary Chinese citizens have taken to wearing masks around Tiananmen Square," Carlson reported from Hong Kong, adding: "Even state-owned media like People's Daily are acknowledging 'Beijing cough' as something real, and dangerous."

It is estimated that Beijing currently has 40 times the smog level which World Health Organization deems as safe.

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January 15 News: Beijing Experiences Worst Air Pollution On Record

Skyscrapers are obscured by heavy haze in Beijing Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. (AP Photo)

On January 12, Beijing’s air pollution reached unprecedented levels, even beyond the upper limits of the Air Quality Index, which reports daily air quality around the world, and it’s taking a serious toll on Beijing’s residents. [ThinkProgress]

According to one hospital official, the number of emergency room patients with heart attacks roughly doubled over the weekend. Hospitals are struggling to handle an influx of people suffering from respiratory and cardiac trouble….

China’s pollution disaster should serve as a warning for American lawmakers who claim environmental regulation hurts business. While US pollution levels are nowhere near China’s, cities like Los Angeles and Birmingham struggle to meet basic federal air quality standards. Despite Republican opposition, the Environmental Protection Agency recently issued more stringent soot standards projected to save roughly 15,000 lives a year, which was published in the Federal Register today. Still, Congressional Republicans have not given up on their long campaign to defund the EPA. As part of the impending “fiscal cliff,” the agency’s clean air program stands to lose more than $100 million in funding.

Several of Washington, DC’s recent summers were unusually hot, and its most recent year was the warmest on record. According to the new federal climate report, that’s likely to become business as usual in the future. [WaPo]

Global green energy investment fell to $269 billion in 2012 after hitting a record high of $302 billion in 2011, with the drop driven largely by reduced activity in the United States. The good news, however, is that 2012's investment level is still the second-highest ever recorded. [Grist]

A coalition of climate groups just sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking the Obama Administration to impose a moratorium on fossil fuel development in the Arctic region. The letter comes on the heels of an announcement that the Interior Department will conduct a 60-day assessment of the Arctic offshore drilling program. [Summit County Citizens]

According to leak European Union documents acquired by The Guardian, the British government is seeking to water down EU regulations that would prevent oil and gas drilling projects that could leave ecologically fragile areas vulnerable to oil spills and other accidents. [The Guardian]

The first leg of an undersea power transmission line that would ultimately connect offshore wind farms between New York City and southern Virginia is officially underway. The segment will be 189 miles long and run from Jersey City to an area south of Atlantic City. [NYT]

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