China’s economic boom has come at a cost to the country’s health as despite winning some battles in its War on Pollution, fully 75 percent of its cities still fail to meet air quality standards.
The country’s environment ministry said today in a statement that an air quality survey taken in June showed air quality throughout the country had improvement compared to previous months but only 19 cities met air quality standards every day.
However the ministry said at the same last year only five cities had managed to meet daily standards.
In the capital Beijing air quality in the capital was substandard for almost 60 per cent of June.
The Chinese Government declared a War on Pollution last year starting a nationwide campaign to eliminate substandard industrial capacity and reduce coal consumption after a air quality survey found almost 90 per cent of its large cities failed to meet air quality standards.
So bad is air quality in China that its Government does not expect it to meet acceptable international standards till 2030 and has imposed heavy fines on companies and local governments that do not do all they can to cut down on pollution.
Many local authorities and companies have been found to be submitting false air quality test results.
The vice minister for environmental protection announced a two-year inspection campaign in April to root out fake air quality data and accused some local governments of manipulating the figures to meet national standards.
China’s moves to cut air pollution are not necessarily self motivated. The international community has been placing demands on China for many years to stamp out air pollution which was affecting other countries as it was carried out of China by air currents. Some international companies with manufacturing plants in China have also been passing on pressure to the Chinese Government they have felt from international environmental groups.
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