Photos: Smog-shrouded China denies citizens right to know pollutant measurements (Updated)

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Photos from Sina and Beijing News

Updated: On December 4, Beijing’s PM 2.5 reading soared to 522, or “beyond index” on the scale of 500. We’ve added at the bottom of this post Chinese netizens’ comments on this, as well as those on Beijing’s EPB’s refusal to release information as per the request of our reader Jay.

We know Beijing has long been dubbed “Gray-jing” by foreign expats for its polluted air, but this year’ sky has been particularly gloomy. Even Chinese, who were blindfolded by the official “blue sky counts” and seldom took the government to task on this subject, started to notice that on most of the days, the air in Beijing borders on uninhalable.

Heavy smog blocks the view of the Tiananmen Gate.

A skyscraper in Beijing’s CBD shrouded in the morning haze

At the Olympic Park in Beijing, two women covered their mouths, one with a mouth mask and the other with a scarf, to keep out the dust.

On Chang’an Avenue, a major thoroughfare.

Thanks to the Internet and particularly the unbeatable Weibo, the hugely popular microblogging service, Chinese netizens got wind of the U.S. Embassy’s air quality monitor. And after it announced one day last November that Beijing’s air was “crazy bad,” the tech-savvy and yet increasingly concerned Chinese net users began fervently checking out its data broadcast on Twitter on a daily basis, by getting around China’s Internet censorship infrastructure, known as the Great Fire Wall.

The U.S. Embassy in China publishes Beijing’s air quality data hourly on Twitter at @beijingair.

The better-off middle-class Chinese who own an iPhone have even installed applications which chart data collected from the U.S. Embassy’s daily tweets, and upload screenshots of “bad” and “hazardous” readings, which are instantly shared by thousands more. Each time the pollution level soars to above 350 on a scale of 500, apocalyptic talk ripples over Weibo, and the airbrushed official assessment looks like a joke.

On December 4, Beijing’s PM 2.5 reading soared right off the chart to over 500, whereas nine provinces issued warning of “heavy fog” looming large. Weibo is abuzz with disbelief and discontent. Netizens fumed over the fumes. (Translation of netizens’ comments available at the bottom)

Screenshot of “hazardous” reading on December 4 taken from two different iPhone apps

Bombarded with questions as to why Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau describes a “crazy bad” day as “slightly polluted,” officials were unapologetic, “The fog itself is not pollution,” “The classifications of ‘lightly polluted’, ‘moderately polluted’ and ‘seriously polluted’ date back to more than a decade ago. We can change the wording if people really have problem with it.”

After netizens figured out that the discrepancy between the U.S. reading and the Chinese one is caused by a critical indicator: PM 2.5 (particulate matter of less than 2.5 micrometers), which proves to be the main cause of Beijing’s air pollution, but is ignored in the Chinese assessments, they, spearheaded by the Chinese real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi, launched an online campaign clamoring for more transparent environmental data, and specifically, PM 2.5 measurement. According to Xinhua News Agency, about 95% of the voters on Sina Weibo agreed that “the authorities would adopt PM2.5 measurement this year.”

The authorities finally gave an answer on December 1 – a point-blank refusal. In a written letter to a citizen who requested disclosure of PM 2.5 measurement (shown below), Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau says, “Our bureau assesses the air quality and discloses data in accordance with law. Because PM 2.5 is yet to be listed into the National Standards for Environment and Air Quality, (it) cannot be used to make assessment of air quality. As per Article 21, Section 2 of Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information, our bureau chooses not to release the information you requested.” (Translation of netizens’ comments available at the bottom)

Meanwhile, China’s image-management is as severe as always. On Wednesday, Beijing reported on year-on-year increase in the number of “blue sky days”: “In November, Beijing achieved 22 blue sky days, accounting for 73% of the entire month, which is four days more than the same period of the previous year. ”

Sunrise on the morning of November 13.

If you think the smog is confined to the nation’s capital, you are seriously wrong. The following pictures were taken in various cities along China’s east coast, and they vividly illustrate the air pollution problem endemic to many regions in China.

Morning, November 28, Tianjin, North China

Evening, November 28, Tianjin, North China.

November 28, Hefei, Anhui Province, East China.

November 28, Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, East China.

November 28, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, East China.

November 28, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, East China

November 28, Jinan, Shandong Province, East China

November 28, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, East China.

Selected comments on the news of Beijing’s EPB’s refusal.

零點余晖：My two thoughts: 1) There is only reason for doing something down-to-earth, but there can be thousands of excuses for not doing anything at all; 2) Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau really doesn’t need to expand effort to make public PM 2.5 measurement. Will anyone believe it at all? Had better save some money for taxpayers. //@京华芥末丝: Middle Finger

天佑中华A: Lucky that there is U.S. embassy in China. Otherwise, Beijingers would never know they live in polluted air.

电影发狂：China’s government units only do two things every day: Hoodwinking those above and keeping the truth from those below.

hangle：Today, Beijing’s PM 2.5 measurement is 490. The normal value is 65. Beijing is just a gas chamer at a Nazi concentration camp.

庒繼華: Should simply overthrow a government like this!

裕棠：What a high-sounding statement. What a classic “in accordance with law”. Asshole~~

才让多吉 : The society pays tax to feed you, and you just don’t make public your data to the society. Wasn’t the Standards for Environment and Air Quality you mentioned formulated by you guys? Making its own law to regulate itself, what a damn magic country. I have been coughing since I came to Beijing!

leoluhua：China’s various government units’ attitude towards information is, what the national policy did not permit to be released cannot be released. Chinese businessmen’s understanding of doing business is, what the national law did not forbid should be done preemptively. U.S. government units’ attitude towards information is, what the national policy did not forbid to be released should be released. American businessmen’s understanding of doing business is, what the national law did not permit to do should never be done. Do these differences stem from culture or politics?

戴玮1969：Shameless government!

Selected comments on the news of Beijing’s PM 2.5 reading exceeding 500 on December 4

哲峤：Just find a clean city to settle down in. Nothing is more important than health!

大力猫2011：F**k. It seems emigration is the very important thing to do.

速度13579 :Two months ago, my cousin got back from Toronto. He began to cough nonstop while walking on the street on the first day, and stopped coughing after he bought a mouth mask the next day. I was just shocked. I guess I can’t escape lung cancer if I stay here for a few more years. Quitting smoking won’t help. I really envy life in rural villages in shady green.

EH_Demon：Then are those Americans stationed in China working at high risk? Any premium or subsidy!? Haha

北京小川儿：And property in Beijing has the gall to be (priced at) 40,000 yuan per square meter in spite of this.

葉泉沁Chaney：Beijing welcomes you, by poisoning you to death with its air.

段若凡：Every one, just never ever do any morning exercise. So dirty, it would be like courting death.

我是笨鹿：The least I can understand are those who go back to Beijing to kick-start their career. Taking at least 20 years off your life, is it worthwhile?

墨非墨1987：What are lungs of people in the capital made of? Vacuum cleaners?

宋洋MSR：I just did a web search. My Seattle’s PM 2.5 index is 10.3. Awesome.

诱惑最后的基督：Wahaha. Not in Beijing recently. So shirts no longer have to be washed daily; eyes no longer have to get teary from dust, and get much shinier; there is even less booger inside my nose

r123c123：So characteristic. Ordinary management skill just can’t drive this thing so damn high.

Vanessa中国: Infinite and limitless! It is not a “Worst;” it can only be “worse.” .

IF_ELSE_GOTO：I remember during the Olympics, an American athlete wore a mouth mask in Beijing. He came in for harsh criticism after the media exposed it. What about now?

巨酷蟑螂：What we eat, drink and smell are all problematic. This country is almost ruined.

节能服务之春：Chinese have been impervious to all kinds of toxics for long.

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