Smog has dissipated over the Chinese capital of Beijing after three days of enveloping the city, CNTV reported.
While the development gave rise to a blue skyline, the National Environmental Monitoring Center said that most of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will again be beset by a light haze starting Wednesday. The haze is expected to last until early next month as more cold air drifts towards the region.
In anticipation of the APEC meeting happening early next month, the vice president of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, meanwhile, said that the government will step up its efforts to cleanse the air for the big event. The summit will last for a week, from Nov. 5 to 11, and will be attended by world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama.
Pollutants in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin and Hebei are expected to be lowered by a third.
Earlier this month, the Hebei Province government said that it planned to order the closing down of 881 construction sites which are said to produce large amounts of dust, according to the Lost Angeles Times. The province is said to be a major contributor to the pollution in Beijing.
The government in Shandong Province also said that it would shut down 112 projects in preparation for the APEC conference.
According to experts, the measures will not do much to provide permanent solutions to the pollution problem in Beijing.
"The difference in Beijing's air quality during and after the 2008 Olympics was a good example," Chinese environmentalist Zhao Liang told Beijing-based Pengpai News.
"This kind of special project to combat air pollution will not improve the city's air quality fundamentally."