Thanks to a westerly wind that reached Beijing at midnight last Tuesday, Dec. 1, the heavy smog that shadowed the city has cleared up, according to reports by China Daily.
Zhang Dawei, director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, estimated that air quality in the capital will remain good from Wednesday to Friday.
As a result of the westerly wind, the orange pollution alert was lifted from the capital. Sunday's issuance of the orange pollution alert was the first for Beijing this year. A consequence is the suspension of over 2,100 companies involved in polluting industries.
The move was part of the municipal environmental government's initiative to prevent the further deterioration of air quality in the capital. Special inspection teams were sent to supervise the implementation of restrictions.
On Monday, Nov. 30, PM2.5 particles in Beijing's air hit 945, a peak reading. Thankfully, the number decreased as some monitoring stations in southern Beijing recorded 689 come Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The thick smog that clouded Beijing over the past five days caused a high reading of 500, the highest possible result. People are advised to stay indoors as a reading higher than 300 poses significantly higher health risks. Classes were also suspended.
The poor air quality and thick smog was also the main culprit behind road accidents that occurred all over the city. To prevent more accidents due to poor visibility, expressways that linked cities in Hebei Province with Beijing were closed.
According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the smog was caused by unfavorable weather and the increased consumption of coal in the general north China region.