The city of Beijing has been generating the kinds of headlines that cities usually want no part of. Ahead of the Olympic games, many athletes have been publicly deriding the city's air quality, and rightly so. According to the World Health Organization, the current air pollution in Beijing is at least two to three times higher than levels deemed safe. City officials have been doing what they can with the limited resources and time that is available to them, but Detroit News writer John McCormick, on assignment covering the Beijing Motor Show, reports that there is a long way to go before things are truly cleaned up.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Call this an unexpected result but it seems that Beijing's plans to reduce pollution by banning traffic according to the license plates have not proven satisfactory. According to the city's Environmental Protection Bureau, the skies remained hazy and the pollution levels actually increased.

A top Chinese official affirmed that the reason for this increase was the weather, which was very humid, and the high levels the city already had during the previous days. Nevertheless, the traffic flowed better during the restriction days (Friday to Monday).

However, the quality of the air is quite an interesting story. According to Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau, the index of particulate matter went from 91 on Friday to 100 on Monday afternoon. On the other hand, Xinhua (the official press agency) affirmed that Moday's index was 95 compared to 116 on Thursday. Add the fact that the Communist Party is ordering to the local press to say how good the measure was and that it is unclear how this index is calculated.

Remember that the International Olympic Comittee is seriously concerned on how the pollution levels can affect the athletes competing in the upcoming 2008 Summer Games. I'm also concerned about the effects on the average citizen and the atmosphere that we all share. I think (and please take this as my sole opinion) that the measure, besides being insufficient for attacking a single pollution factor, was too short to have a real effect. What do you think?

Related:

• Everything ready for Beijing's trial on reducing traffic
• Beijing to ban traffic in August, and maybe during the Olympics
• Save the Earth some CO2, with olympic spirit

[Source: The Washington Post thanks to Phil]

From August 17th to 20th, traffic will be severely restricted in Beijing. Up to 1.3 million vehicles will be banned from circulation. The ban affects cars depending on the ending plate's number: cars which number end in an odd number will be banned two days and cars with ending in an even number will be banned from traffic the other two. Public vehicles and public transport won't be affected by the ban. A similar measure has been applied in Mexico City and some Italian cities.

The ban is an idea to reduce the city's pollution, which, despite the city efforts in renewing power plants and taking the industries to the outskirts of the city, has reached alarming levels due to the increased traffic. Estimates are about 3.3 million motor vehicles on the road by August 2008, when the Olympic Games will be held. The measure will cut 1 million vehicles from Beijing's roads and although it was planned for two weeks, the local authorities have decided to try it in a smaller scale. Should this test be satisfactory, the measure will be applied during the Games.

A few days ago, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, announced that some endurance competitions could be seriously affected by the high levels of pollution of the city and they could even have to be canceled to protect the athletes' health if the situation is severe enough.

Related:

• Beijing to ban traffic in August, and maybe during the Olympics
• Save the Earth some CO2, with olympic spirit

[Source: Xinhua official news agency, via Europa Press]