China to tighten air pollution standards

China is to tighten up its air pollution standards beginning next year in a move which will eventually lead to the release of pollution data across the country by 2016. Many Chinese cities suffer from severe air pollution and during winter, smog shrouds cities like Beijing in darkness.

The move will also look to tighten reporting on small particles measuring less than 2.5 microns. These PM 2.5 particles are currently not recorded by the Chinese government, leading to a skewing of data. The new standard will go national by 2015, the environment department has said.

Currently the government only considers particles above 10 micrometres and the Chinese public have been seen to doubt the government’s figures and revert to the US Embassy, which records all particulates. The US says that the pollution is particularly severe and is sometimes ‘off the scale’, compared to Chinese statistics, which show a ‘slight’ pollution problem.

During the 2008 Olympics, various limitations were put on vehicles in Beijing in order to limit pollution in the city. Smog has been an issue in Chinese cities for some time, and standards will have to be improved markedly to fall into line with many cities in developed countries.