Beijing skies worsen despite pollution victory claims

Monday, 4 August 2008

BEIJING - Smog returned to Beijing's skies on Monday, despite claims by Chinese officials that drastic anti-pollution measures had slashed the chances of Olympic events having to be rescheduled.

The familiar murky air seen in the capital reduced visibility to a few hundred metres (yards) just four days before the Olympic opening ceremony.

The poor air followed three days of blue skies, that had led Chinese officials to trumpet the success of drastic anti-pollution measures.

"I believe the likelihood of rescheduling sporting events due to air quality concerns is very low," said Fan Yuansheng, director of pollution control at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, according to the state-run China Daily.

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned last year that poor air during the Games could result in the suspension of some events, particularly endurance races such as the marathon.

Fan, speaking Sunday, said data showed that air quality had been "excellent" during the first three days of August in the capital, which has enjoyed unusually blue skies since the last-minute measures were introduced on July 20.

He said the improvement was a result of the anti-pollution drive, according to the English-language daily.

One million of the city's 3.3 million cars were taken off the roads from July 20, and more than 100 heavily polluting factories and building sites were closed down.

Chinese authorities have said they could take further measures if air quality remained poor, a move that Fan backed.

"Should environmental departments foresee serious air pollution during the Olympics, Beijing and neighboring areas will temporarily close more factories and pull more cars off the road," he said, according to the report.

Men's world record holder Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia pulled out of the Beijing marathon citing concerns the smog could damage his health, although he will run the 10,000m.