Beijing residents saw an unexpected and seldom-seen clear blue skies for several days after meteorologist forecast of medium air pollution levels during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that began on Nov. 5 and will conclude tomorrow, Nov. 11.
Residents believe that Beijing's local government scored one against the dreaded and well-known air pollution that envelops China's capital, but environmentalists said that the smog-free skies led to GDP losses.
On Nov. 4, weather forecasters predicted medium to severe air pollution from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11. The bureau said that air pollutants will be transported from nearby provinces to Beijing.
According to environmentalists, Beijing managed to control air pollution during the APEC summit, but the efforts led to losses in GDP. The Global Times cited the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau that the capital's air quality index recorded no higher than 100 with temperature ranging from 2 degrees centigrade to 10 degrees centigrade.
Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, commended the government policies to control smog in the capital, but warned of their unsustainable nature.
"Government policies have played a very important role in the good weather," Ma said. "[But] it also cost Beijing and its neighboring cities enormous amounts in manpower and economic losses."
Ma said that air pollution control became possible after Beijing issued mandatory administrative orders that had negative effects on people and the capital's GDP.
Ma pointed out the steps Beijing took to ensure that smog is below its usual levels, such as cutting factory and vehicle emissions and enforcing a six-day holiday for employees and schools.
The local government also suspended construction work while the APEC summit is still ongoing. Beijing has also partnered with its neighbors such as Tianjin to impose pollution-control measures.
However, Ma did not provide an exact estimate of the economic losses and said it would be difficult at this point.
To address air pollution in the long-term, environment professor Zhang Yuanxun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences suggested that factories operating in Beijing and those adjacent to the capital should comply with the government's emission standard.
Zhang also suggested that commuters should refrain from using private vehicles and instead take public transportation to reduce air pollution levels.