Beijing Closes 2,500 Firms in 2016 To Reduce Air Pollution and Environmental Degradation

Beijing's municipal government has said that it will close 2,500 small polluting firms this year in its latest effort to curb pollution, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

According to The Strait Times, pollution is a sensitive topic in China. Reports indicate that every year, protests are held across China over environmental degradation, particularly from the factories.

The city's municipal authority said that firms in four districts, including Fengtai, Fangshan, Tongzhou and Daxing districts will be closed by the end of 2017. Xinhua reported that the municipal government revealed four districts had been hit by bouts of choking smog this winter. The condition is perceived to impose a huge impact on the city' ecology. 

Sometime last month, Beijing issued a "red alert" for the dire state of the air poullation in the country. As a result, schools closed down and outdoor construction was prohibited.

Additionally, the Environment Ministry has warned the residents of heavy smog that is expected to hit them this week.

The Weather Bug asserted that Xinhua's report further showed Beijing's average PM2.5 reading in 2015 was 80.6 micrograms per cubic meter. According to the official data, this is 1.3 times more than the national standard.

China has vowed to cut down coal consumption and shut down industries. However, "Environmental officials admit the country is unlikely to meet state air quality standards until at least 2030," read a statement in the Star Times.

Meanwhile, "Beijing's environmental watchdog levied fines totaling about 183 million yuan (S$40 million) for violations of pollution laws in Beijing in 2015," Xinhua said.

Despite the agency declining to offer a comparative full-year figure, the state media alleged that in 2015, the amount collected in pollution fines for the first nine months of 2015 was almost twice the amount for the similar period during 2014.