China sets up supervision over heavy smog in NE China
Xinhua, November 10, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) is supervising the heavy smog in northeast China, said an announcement from the ministry on Tuesday.
The MEP has urged the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang to intensify their measures against heavy air pollution, as well as to strengthen supervision on the issue.
The MEP has already dispatched eight inspection groups to carry out comprehensive supervision, in order to ensure the atmospheric environmental security in the area, according to the announcement.
The groups will keep a close eye on the contingency plans, early warning and countermeasures of the local governments, said Zou Shoumin, Director General of MEP Bureau of Environmental Supervision and Inspection.
Government action to regulate pollutants from straw and coal burning, as well as high-emissions vehicles, will be another focus of the inspections, according to Zou.
The northeastern provinces of China have been troubled by large scale heavy smog since last Friday due to poor meteorological conditions and emission of pollutants.
The smog has covered a total of 260,000 square km of land in the area as of Monday, according to Luo Yi, Director General of MEP Department of Environmental Monitoring.
Most areas will see medium to heavy air pollution from Nov. 10 to 14, with PM2.5 being the main pollutant, the ministry said in another statement on Monday. Endi