Beijing may face smoggy APEC summit despite cleanup efforts

Beijing may be hit by smoggy weather as world leaders gather in China’s capital for a summit, even as the government pushes for blue skies by shutting power plants and banning street-side barbecues.
From Nov. 8-11, the city and surrounding areas will experience slight to moderate smog because of unfavorable conditions for pollutants to disperse, Wang Zhihua, a spokesman for the China Meteorological Administration said in comments posted on the agency’s website.
To cut pollution for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that started yesterday and ends Nov. 12, the government has sought to limit cars on the roads and restrict industrial production. Heads of state including U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are scheduled to attend a leadership summit Nov. 10-11.
“Due to the relatively long duration, an accumulative effect of pollutants is likely to form, and risks for moderately polluted weather to appear around the 10th are high,” Wang was quoted as saying in the transcript of a press conference held Tuesday and posted on the agency’s website.
Pollution in Beijing reached hazardous levels for at least 10 days in October. To improve air quality, the capital announced a weeklong break for residents, and encouraged them to travel outside. Local residents have been barred from burning clothes of dead relatives, a rite intended as an offering to the deceased, the Beijing News reported Tuesday.
Construction sites in the city are told to halt operations during the APEC forum, and trucks carrying building materials from cement to gravel are banned from the roads.
China has a history of cleaning up the environment to improve its image for events under global spotlight such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2001 APEC held in Shanghai. Bloomberg