Emergency plan to tackle Beijing pollution

The air pollution index in Beijing has sharply dropped to less than 200 from nearly 500 on Sunday. The classification has gone from serious to minor. Officials give main credit to the air pollution emergency plan. They say it shows the preliminary results of emission reductions.

On January the first, Beijing ordered 58 enterprises to stop production. Around 40 others have reduced emissions by more than 30 percent.

The city's traffic management department says when serious pollution levels are reached, 30 percent of official cars should be taken off the road. Five heavy polluted districts of Beijing have complied.

Fang Li, Deputy Director, Beijing EPA, said, "All the license plate numbers of public cars have been recorded in the system. If they run on the road, the electronic eye can catch them. "

A city environmental official told the media on Monday that the air quality in Beijing has been off the charts for five days. He said the main factors are large emissions and weather conditions.

Zhang Dawei, Director, Beijing Environ. Protection Monitoring Ctr., said, "As a megalopolis, the pollutant emission load is quite large. When the atmospheric conditions are bad, pollutants are difficult to disperse, which leads to severe contamination."

Adding to the mix are the city layout and factory locations. Pollution in the southern suburbs is higher in the city center. A cold front is expected Tuesday night, which should help clear the air.