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Bejing's Clean-Air Blitz Falls Short

Independent readings, photos show smog persists despite pre-Olympic crackdown

By Sam Biddle,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 5, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Chinese government’s goal of dispersing the thick smog around Beijing is not working, Wired reports after analyzing independent data. Efforts including factory shutdowns, car bans, and cloud seeding have not improved air quality, with pollution levels still far above the World Health Organization’s standards on most days. Heavy rain has been the only factor that truly diminishes particulate matter, scientists say.

Since anti-smog efforts went into effect last month, air pollution has dropped significantly only once—following heavy rainfall. Officials continue to insist the world will see a “blue-sky” Olympics, denying that environmental sensor readings and photographic evidence are clear indicators of air quality: “This kind of weather is a natural phenomenon,” claims one Beijing official.

Smoggy Beijing skies are a backdrop as performers head to a July 30 rehearsal for the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Smoggy Beijing skies are a backdrop as performers head to a July 30 rehearsal for the Olympic opening ceremonies.   (AP Photo)
A Chinese worker wearing a mask cleans the pavement outside birds nest, the National stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug.4, 2008.
A Chinese worker wearing a mask cleans the pavement outside "birds nest", the National stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug.4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A group of men march in hazy weather conditions outside the National stadium Birds Nest at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 4, 2008.
A group of men march in hazy weather conditions outside the National stadium "Birds Nest" at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
A worker from environmental supervision installs the device to check the air pollution in front of the Olympic rings at the Olympic Green in Beijing Thursday, July 31, 2008.
A worker from environmental supervision installs the device to check the air pollution in front of the Olympic rings at the Olympic Green in Beijing Thursday, July 31, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A paramilitary policeman walks through Beijing's Tiananmen Gate as a Beijing Olympics logo is seen through hazy skies in Tiananmen square Sunday July 27, 2008.
A paramilitary policeman walks through Beijing's Tiananmen Gate as a Beijing Olympics logo is seen through hazy skies in Tiananmen square Sunday July 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Morning haze hangs over Beijing on June 21, 2008, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.
Morning haze hangs over Beijing on June 21, 2008, the first workday for restrictions on car use under a bold plan to clear the Olympic city of its notorious smog-choked skies.   (AP Photo)
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