Beijing has 13 more days of "blue sky" in 1st half year
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-07-05 18:48

Frequent rainfalls have helped Beijing have more days with clear skies in June this year, when 21 days with good air quality were recorded in China's capital, according to local environmentalists.

The first six months witnessed 117 days with clear skies, or 64.6 percent of all days under monitoring, 13 days more than the year-earlier level,the municipal environmental protection administration said. According to Beijing's annual air pollution control plan, the city aims to have 230 days with clear skies this year, as against 228 days last year.

A local meteorologist said, "In early and mid-June, frequent cold air movements were conducive to dispelling pollutants. The favorable weather conditions contributed significantly to the city's air pollution control plan."

Since the beginning of July, however, local meteorologists have continued to give warnings of high-temperatures in Beijing. The unfavorable weather conditions will likely make the national capital have fewer days with high air quality, environmentalists predict.

According to Feng Yuqiao, who was in charge of the atmosphere department of the municipal environmental protection administration, Beijing injected a total of 67 billion yuan (8.1 billion US dollars) in various environmental protection projects between 1998 and 2003, or four percent of the city's gross domestic product for the six-year period.

Compared with 1998, the sulfur dioxide level in Beijing's air reduced 49 percent, nitrogen dioxide reduced 3 percent and particulate matter went down 20 percent. As a result, days with blue sky accounted for 61.4 percent of the 2003 total and 62.5 percent of the 2004 total. The city's annual air pollution controllers predict the proportion will go further up to 63 percent this year.

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