Beijing Targets Blue Skies As Olympics Loom

Jan 3 2007

BEIJING - Beijing authorities have set a target of 245 clear air days during 2007, as they step up their drive to improve the city's environment ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, officials said yesterday.

One of the world's most polluted cities, Beijing enjoyed 241 so-called "blue sky" days in 2006, exceeding its target of 238.

Further improving Beijing's air quality will be the city government's top priority in 2007, the Beijing environmental protection bureau said on their website. The bureau classify blue-sky days as days when air quality registers level two or better on an index that runs from level one, or excellent, to level five or hazardous to health.

Heavy industry, sandstorms from the Gobi desert and exhaust fumes from the fast-rising number of cars contributed in 2006 to heavy pollution that forced the government to issue health warnings to residents in November and December last year.

In a report released in November, China's State Environmental Protection Administration said 11 major cities in China, including Beijing, were plagued by serious air pollution on more than one-third of days in 2006, damaging the health of some 15 million people. - AFP