Beijing pollution levels were considered safe for just four days last month China Energy Firm Bows To Pollution Pressure China’s biggest energy supplier has announced it will spend £1.6bn upgrading the quality of the fuel it refines in an effort to tackle staggering levels of pollution. The move by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) follows new measures, implemented this weekend, to curb vehicle emissions in Beijing. The Chinese capital has suffered two months of the worst pollution on record. Throughout January and February, pollution levels across large areas of northern China reached historically high levels. According to data recorded by the American Embassy in Beijing and collated by Sky News, there were just four days in February when the air was at a level considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be safe. For 17 days in February, the air pollution in Beijing rose to levels considered “very unhealthy” or “hazardous”. China Pollution The app looks at the quality of Beijing’s air. Credit: CN Air Quality January was even worse. For 18 days the air quality was at a level 12 times the safe limit; on three of those days it was off the charts – and on one day it was so far off the chart it reached 40 times the safe level. The bad air prompted an unusually vocal call for action on social media which is usually censored. Even the state-sanctioned newspapers were running editorials calling for action. Consensus placed the blame for the bad pollution on the sheer …
