A New Environmental Police To Battle Heavy Smog In Beijing

The officials in Beijing will squad new environmental police to crack down illegal burning in the city. This is a response on the heavy smog enveloping the atmosphere of Beijing and other cities in China.

Beijing's acting mayor, Cai Qi, said that he used to check the weather and the air quality index (AQI) of Beijing first thing in the morning. He further said that he totally understands the public's concerns and complaints about air pollution. He added that the new environmental police would target open-air barbecues, garbage incineration and the burning of wood and other biomass, according to Yahoo.

He also announces some other measures to tackle the smog in China. These include the cutting of the use of coal by 30 percent in 2017 and closing 500 higher-polluting factories and upgrading 2,500 more. There will also be restrictions for 300,000 high-pollution vehicles to enter Beijing in the next month.

ABC News reports that China including Beijing and other cities is experiencing heavy smog as of these times. This is caused mainly by thousands of coal-burning factories and inefficient vehicles. The government has issued "red alerts" in more than 20 cities. This is the highest warning level in China's four-tiered system. Meanwhile, Beijing was on "orange alert," which is the second-highest.

China is considered the world's largest producer and consumer of coal. The measure to cut the use of coal and closing coal mines could drive energy prices and slow down its economy. On the other hand, these measures would lessen the heavy smog and prevent diseases from spreading to people across the nation. The Chinese are concerned on how to battle the heavy smog in their areas as of these times.

Cai said that he thinks it is a good sign that more and more people were anxious about air pollution. He further said that the more they care, the more they will participate.