Outlook For Air Quality In Beijing For Olympics Is Borderline
Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 11:07
in Earth & Climate
The outlook for air quality in Beijing during the Olympics is borderline, and there's little that the Chinese government can do to improve it. That's the conclusion drawn by atmospheric chemists who analyzed pollution data collected regularly for the last five years by Chinese scientists. Locally generated pollutants in Beijing consist primarily of organic matter from transportation, factories and cooking, while regional sources of pollution include ammonium sulfates and ammonium nitrates from coal-burning power plants, industry and transportation sources, which are easily transported long distances in the atmosphere.