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According to the report, since 2013, Nitrogen dioxide has also been reduced by 54 percent. Beijing has raised the number of “good air days” from only 13 in 2013 to more than 300 in 2023.
Beijing’s clean air measures yield rapid results. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
In the recent past, Delhi and Beijing were compared to each other as to which of them was the most polluted city on earth. Air pollution in Beijing then started going down steadily, but in Delhi, it went up. The Chinese capital has cleaned the air effectively as per the World Economic Forum (WEF) data, which revealed that the city has reduced the PM2.5 level by 64 percent and the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) level by 89 percent since 2013. Much of this change is credited to a wide and ambitious coalition plan launched by Beijing with measures such as the prohibition of new coal capacities, the halting of coal-based residential heating and the adoption of stringent vehicular and industrial emissions protocols.
According to the report, since 2013, Nitrogen dioxide has also been reduced by 54 percent. Beijing has raised the number of “good air days” from only 13 in 2013 to more than 300 in 2023.
In an online video presented by the WEF, Angel Hsu, an associate professor of public policy and environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said she noticed a significant improvement in air pollution levels during her trip to Beijing in January. Citing her experience from the time she studied there, Hsu mentioned that she roughly had five days of clear blue sky within a year. But during her recent one-week visit, she could see that the sky was clear and blue each day she was around. She pointed out that China has now emerged as an example of coordinated policies and initiatives that work well to meet air quality challenges.
Beijing has greatly improved from the first decade of the 21st century when the smog level in the city was the highest globally, the report added. WEF reveals that no other city in the world has managed to achieve this “rapid shift”.
How did Beijing do it?
WEF reports that the country developed a high-density three-dimensional air quality monitoring network of 1500 PM2.5 sensors and satellite remote sensing with laser radar. Beijing implemented serious restrictions on the use of coal power plants, removed older and dirtier vehicles from circulation and increased public transport infrastructure and availability. All the while the city continued to make the growth of its GDP at an average of 6.8 percent annually.
However, it also revealed that Beijing has much to achieve, nonetheless, its pollution is still six times higher than the WHO standards. Scientists cited in the report indicated that some of the pollution comes from 1000 kilometres away which clearly shows that it’s not just a “local issue”.
The report also adds that air pollution is the highest environmental threat to health. In 2021, it reportedly claimed 8.1 million lives around the world.
