Schools in Beijing are closed and outdoor construction halted as the Chinese capital’s first ever pollution “red alert” came into effect. The alert, the highest possible warning level, was issued on December 7 and will last until midday on December 10. Limits have been placed on car use and some factories have been ordered to stop operations. It comes as China, the world’s worst polluter, takes part in talks on carbon emissions in Paris. It is the first time China has declared a red alert under the four-tier alert system, which was adopted a little over two years ago, although pollution levels were far from the city’s worst.

Background:-

• Coal-powered industries and heating systems, as well as vehicle emissions and dust from construction sites, all contribute to the smog which has been exacerbated by humidity and a lack of wind.
• As well as limits on construction and schools – which were advised to close if they did not have good air filtration systems – cars are only permitted to drive on alternate days, with the day depending on whether a car’s number plate ends in an odd or even number.
• China’s air quality is a key factor in its push for a new global deal on climate change.
• Its negotiators here point to their continued investment in renewable sources of energy, in an effort to cut down on coal consumption, particularly in urban areas.
• Around 58% of the increase in the country’s primary energy consumption in 2013-14 came from non-fossil fuel sources.
• These efforts to go green may not be having an immediate effect on the air in Beijing but they have had an impact on global output of carbon dioxide.
• The scale of the health impact is vast. There have been 1.4 million premature deaths in China because of air pollution, according to a study