A file photo shows air polllution in Beijing. [Photo/VCG] PM2.5 will give way to PM10 as major component of coming smog Ozone is forecast to be one of two major contributors to the smog expected to settle in areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei province region early this month, the top environmental authority said on Wednesday. It will also be the only major pollutant for mild or moderate air pollution expected to occur in many other parts of the country, the authority said. At the start of August, air pollution is expected to develop in the central and southern parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and some areas may experience heavy air pollution because of unfavorable meteorological conditions for dispersal, combined with the lingering heat wave, according to a statement from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released late on Wednesday. Ozone will remain continuously, although PM2.5 - tiny particles that can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream - will also contribute to the widespread pollution in the region until Monday, with some areas heavily polluted. Also, PM10 will replace PM2.5 as one of the two major pollutants that mainly affect the central and southern parts of the region until Aug 10, it said. The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it found 5,204 environmental violations from June 11 to July 8 in an air pollution control inspection in 28 major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster. The heads of five county-level administrative areas in the region, including Beijing's Tongzhou district, have been summoned by the ministry to answer for their poor performance in air pollution control. Ozone will also affect most other regions. In the Yangtze River Delta, for example, the mild ozone pollution that was present in most parts of the region on Wednesday will be dispersed by Tropical Storm Jongdari between Thursday and Saturday. The pollution, however, will show up again in central and northern parts of the region from Sunday until Aug 9, the ministry said. Ozone occurs in two layers of the atmosphere: the troposphere, the layer closest to the Earth's surface, and the stratosphere, the layer that extends upward from about 9 to 48 kilometers. The gas, however, can be both good and bad. In the stratosphere, ozone protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. In the troposphere, however, ozone is a pollutant that could trigger a variety of health problems, particularly for children, the elderly and people troubled by lung diseases. Most ozone in the troposphere is formed by a chemical reaction when sunlight interacts with nitrogen oxides and other organic compounds generated by coal-burning, vehicle exhaust and some natural sources. Zhao Yingmin, vice-minister of ecology and environment, said in June that the country will roll out new guidelines to control ozone pollution, which has been rising steadily since 2015, by stepping up the controls of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds. Meanwhile, the ministry launched a nationwide campaign on Tuesday to crack down on companies illegally producing substances listed in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. rubber braceletsevent wristbands
A view of the world's longest cross-sea bridge, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, in Zhuhai city, South China's Guangdong province, 6 September 2018. [Photo/IC] HONG KONG -- The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will help Hong Kong to exert its advantages and develop complementarily with other cities in the area, Hong Kong organizations, scholars and businessmen said here on Monday. China on Monday unveiled the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The plan, an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the area, aims to develop the Greater Bay Area, which covers nine cities of Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, into a role model of high-quality development. The Hong Kong society have been longing for this blueprint as it offers guidance on how to exert Hong Kong's advantages, said Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress. The Greater Bay Area provides a much larger stage for Hong Kong's development, he said, adding that with greater connectivity between the cities in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can better interact with other cities and give a full play to its advantages in areas such as finance and scientific innovation. Fang Zhou, research director of the Hong Kong-based One-Country-Two-Systems Research Institute, said the development of the Greater Bay Area will widen Hong Kong's economic structure and living space and will provide young people with new opportunities, allowing Hong Kong residents to enjoy fruitful results of the country's economic development and supporting the SAR's long-term prosperity and stability. Different sectors of Hong Kong also welcomed the promulgation of the outline plan, anticipating more opportunities brought by the Greater Bay Area development. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement released Monday evening that with the development of financial services as a major element, the outline development plan supports consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset management center as well as a risk management center. The document also supports the establishment of a platform for investment and financing serving the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Chinese mainland enterprises in establishing capital operation and corporate treasury center in Hong Kong, the HKMA said, pledging to proactively follow up with the Chinese mainland authorities to implement the related policy initiatives. Stephanie Young, managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said that the blueprint along with the two newly-launched transportation infrastructure, namely the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, will further tie up cities and areas in the Greater Bay Area, which will certainly bring more tourists from the Greater Bay Area to Hong Kong. Witman Hung, who has been working for years as a liaison officer between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on modern service industry cooperation, said that with developing an international innovation and technology hub as one of its priorities, the Greater Bay Area will provide a conducive environment for Hong Kong's scientific innovative industry. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has a unique advantage in which cities in the area are inter-complementary and can form a complete and integrated industrial chain for technological innovation, he said, adding that Hong Kong, strong in both basic scientific research and financing, can play a dual role. Abraham Lam, a young entrepreneur from Hong Kong who has started a business in Shenzhen, said that with connectivity between cities in the Greater Bay Area being improved, he has seen opportunities to expand his business by leveraging the complementary strengths of different cities in the area.
