China is working to improve its environment before the opening ceremony.
China uses its participation at the Winter Olympic Games to drive its efforts to improve its environment. However, the smog-prone capital Beijing is not yet ready for the worst as the ceremony for opening day approaches.
Beijing has seen improvements in its air quality since China has won the bid to be the host of the Games; however, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment has declared that winter smog risks were “severe.”
Ministry spokesperson Liu Youbin told reporters that contingency plans were in the works on Thursday.
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“When the time is right, Beijing and Hebei will be directed to implement appropriate environmental protection measures conformity with the law,” Liu Youbin said.
There was a rumor that the heavy industries that pollute the region would be shut down as of January. 1 “not accurate” However, said the official.
The critics in 2015 warned that China was awarded the bid in 2015 that Winter Olympics could be obscured by smog that is hazardous in a region dominated by heavy industrial.
Chinese president Xi Jinping subsequently vowed to host the games as a “green” Games. Hebei has promised to “transform and modernize” their industrial industry.
Since then, China has planted thousands of hectares of trees throughout Beijing and the surrounding Hebei province, constructed vast solar and wind farms, and moved hundreds of companies.
In the city of Zhangjiakou city, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Beijing and the venue for skiing and snowboarding events, 26-year old professional skier Deng Zhongping claims to have already experienced the change.
“When I came to Beijing a few years back, I would suffer from rhinitis because of pollution, but the air quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei has improved a lot,” he said. “I believe the air quality in Zhangjiakou skiing resorts is better than other Ski resorts.”
In 2016, average concentrations of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region stood at 71 micrograms per cubic meter. They soared to more than 500 micrograms over winter.
This contrasts with an average of 40 micrograms during January and September of this year.
In Beijing of 33 milligrams during the three-quarters of the year that began, exceeding China’s standard of 35 micrograms.
However, it was higher than that recommended World Health Organization level of 5 micrograms. The reading is expected to increase significantly over the winter months.