China wants to keep the right to publish pollution indicators

The Chinese government requires foreign embassies to end the announcement of air quality measurement results in the country.

Chinese cities suffer from the most serious air pollution in the world, but for years the government's air measurements have shown low levels of pollution. Public awareness has changed after the US embassies and consulates in China announced the air pollution index in Beijing City, Shanghai on Twitter and an iPhone phone application. . US indicators show that levels of air pollution in the two cities are at dangerous levels.

The difference between assessing air quality between China and the United States lies in the size of microscopic dust particles. Most cities in China evaluate air quality based on the concentration of particles larger than 10 micrometers in diameter. Meanwhile, American devices measure dust particles of less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter - a much larger density of dust.

The increase in the number of cars in China is one
causes air quality to decrease. (Photo: wsj.com)

'China's air quality monitoring and disclosure activities are related to public interests. So only the government has the right to do that , 'AFP quoted Wu Xiaoqing, Chinese Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection.

Wu did not name the US embassy, ​​but called on foreign diplomats to abide by Chinese law.

'Publicizing China's air quality data is contrary to the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations,' he said.

Many international organizations claim that China is one of the countries with the lowest air quality in the world. Coal burning operations and the explosion in the number of cars are the top two causes of China's air quality decline. According to Yale University's Environmental Performance Index in the United States, China ranks 128th out of 132 countries for air quality.

Beijing has announced that it will change the way it measures the dust concentration in the air after public opinion about US indicators. Recently the government requested 74 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, to measure particulate concentrations of less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and publish results this year.