Haze Sets In Four Days Before Olympics
Posted on: Monday, 4 August 2008, 15:05 CDT
After a weekend of the clear weather a grey haze clogged Beijing's skies on Monday, causing concern four days before the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games.
In a bid to ensure blue skies during the competition, organizers have closed dozens of factories and pulled more than half the city's 3.3 million cars off the roads.
China is still considering some man-made help to ensure dry weather and clean air for Friday, said officials.
The Chinese government has two ways of controlling rainfall; weather stations outside Beijing could try to induce rain before it reaches the center of the city, by firing a chemical seeding agent into clouds with anti-aircraft guns, a common practice in arid northern China.
Another possibility consists of firing a coolant into clouds that increases the number of water droplets, causing heavier droplets to fall ahead of the big show.
Last week, smog covered the city prompting the government to draw up a last-resort plan to clear more vehicles from the roads of Beijing and surrounding cities, and shut down over 200 more factories.
Endurance events such as the marathon may be rescheduled to prevent health risks if pollution is bad, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Data showed air pollutants were well within limits for a "blue sky day" at all monitoring stations in the 24 hours to midday on Sunday, although they do not provide an overall summary, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said.
But on Sunday afternoon a visible haze started to gather and the city meteorological bureau forecast cloudy, hot weather with just a light breeze on Monday.
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Image Caption: Two athletes chat at the Olympic Village, in Beijing, China, July 27, 2008. (Photo credit: Xinhua)
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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