In recent weeks, central government and municipal authorities have announced tougher crackdowns on polluting companies, new emission reduction measures and stiffer penalties for falsifying environmental reports.
In what may be a landmark for enforcement, a court in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province handed down prison sentences of more than one year to seven individuals in a notorious case of data fraud in 2016.
Inspectors reported violations at 13,785 companies, or more than 70 percent of those examined, the official Xinhua news agency reported on June 11.
In March, a plan announced by key central government agencies and six provincial-level governments called for shutdowns or production cuts next winter at cement, steel, aluminum, and coal-fired power plants to ease smog in 28 northern cities.
On June 13, Beijing’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced a 10-point antismog plan that includes cutting local power generation by 10 percent, replacing coal-fired furnaces, reducing use of heavy-duty diesel vehicles and relocating 500 factories.
In a report on June 19, the Communist Party’s Beijing Municipal Committee said that annual average PM2.5 density fell 23.7 percent compared with 2012.
During the smog crisis in January, average PM2.5 density in the 28 northern cities soared 70 percent from a year earlier to 116 micrograms per cubic meter, the MEP reported.
Beijing’s PM2.5 concentrations soared as high as 684 micrograms per cubic meter during the sandstorm, CNN reported.
Improvements are critical Improvements in Beijing’s air quality are critical to the government’s development goals for the capital, according to the party’s report to the city’s 12th Municipal Congress last month.
As the party congress approaches, political leaders can be expected to show greater resolve to improve air quality and solve China’s most visible pollution problem.