Shanghai to introduce new air pollution laws

A new air pollution law in Shanghai, China, is to set limits for emissions, it has been announced by a Shanghai legislative body.

The organisation is planning to produce a new, detailed environmental protection law this year. It is hoped this will predominantly cut PM2.5 pollution. These are miniscule airborne particles that are believed to prove a health risk.

According to local legislators, the law will include exhaust discharge standards for vehicles and local factories, not to mention measures designed to control flying dust at construction sites.

Local lawmaker Li Ming commented: "Though the city's environmental protection authority has carried out emergency plans for heavily polluted days, the city's air quality often remains poor.

Current measures fail to receive ideal effects.”

The standing committee of the legislative body in the city said that local government departments should start working on getting the new law together as soon as possible.

Since the launch of the Air Quality Index that took effect in November, the ratings are as follows. Air quality is ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ when the index is below 100, ‘lightly’ or ‘moderately’ polluted between 101 and 200, and ‘heavily’ or ‘severely’ polluted from 201 to 500.

Shaghai has experienced more than 15 days when the index rose above 100 in 2013, with the index soaring to 254 on January 16th.

Officials have also launched a number of other initiatives in a bid to cut air pollution. In times of heavy pollution in the city, around one-third of local government vehicles will be taken off the road in a bid to cut emissions, according to Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.

What’s more, when the figure exceeds 300, some factories and construction sites will come to a halt and a number of outdoor activities will be cancelled.

The expert also acknowledged that Shanghai needs to work alongside neighbouring provinces in order to curb emissions.