Liaoning.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
The province of Liaoning in Northeast China has introduced drones with remote sensing systems in its campaign against air pollution, official from the provincial environment bureau said on Monday.
The drones, according to Wu Di, deputy director of the environmental inspection bureau of the city of Liaoyang, will be used to detect and monitor sources of pollution as well as control smog, according to Shanghai Daily.
The devices will perform real-time monitoring of polluters, according to Wu.
The official also said that the bureau will be using drones in tandem to detect whether pollution sources like factories are giving off substances over the allowed levels.
"One drone will record the real-time ground image and send it back immediately to the command center. Another will then fly to areas which we think can cause smog, and then analyze the air quality index of those areas at an altitude between 200 and 1,000 meters," Wu said.
Punishment will be meted out to offenders, the official said.
Smoggy days increase in Northeast China during winter, when large amounts of coal are burned to generate heat.
Liaoning, which is the first in the province to use drones to fight pollution, has resorted to the device as heavy traffic and snowstorms interfere with the checking of air quality in the city.
North China's coastal city of Tianjin has also started using remote sensing technologies to survey car emissions.
