HAZARDOUS AIR DAYS IN BEIJING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 003179 STATE FOR EAP/CM-BRAUNOHLER STATE FOR OES, OES/EGC, OES/ENV, EAP/CM and EB USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL/MKASMAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV CASC KGHG TRGY ENRG PREL CH SUBJECT: HAZARDOUS AIR DAYS IN BEIJING REF: A. 2007 BEIJING 7110 ¶B. BEIJING 1945 This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Not for distribution outside the United States Government. SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) From November 5 through November 8, the Air Quality Index (AQI),as measured by the Embassy's PM2.5 monitor, registered "Hazardous," whereas the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BEPB),which reports only PM10 readings, registered only "Lightly Polluted" and "Moderately Polluted" conditions. In fact, the BEPD just recently declared that Beijing had already met its target of 260 "Blue Sky Days." While the Chinese authorities do not report PM2.5 figures, this obvious discrepancy in air quality assessments points to an ongoing debate in Beijing on whether the air quality has significantly improved over the past year. There is also growing acknowledgement among Chinese academics and government environment officials that data manipulation and lack of reporting of serious pollutants make it difficult to obtain a clear picture of how serious the air pollution problem really is. Until the government formally recognizes the need for mroe accurate and credible air quality data, Beijing residents will remain in the unhealthy dark on the city's air quality. End Summary. Four Hazardous Days in One Month -------------- ¶2. (SBU) From November 5 through November 8, the Air Quality Index (AQI) from the Embassy's PM2.5 monitor registered the maximum reading of 500. An AQI level above 300 is considered "Hazardous" by EPA standards and dangerous air quality conditions such as this would have normally triggered a health emergency in any U.S. city. However, in Beijing, there were no such government notifications. Despite heavy smog covering the city - which at times required the daytime use of headlights while driving - the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) waited until November 8 to quietly elevate the air quality grade from "Lightly Polluted" to "Moderately Polluted" on its website. PM2.5 Pollution Not a Secret: The Embassy Monitor -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) For the 32 days from October 8 to November 8, 2009, BEPB's recorded 24 hourly average PM10 readings presented a much more positive picture of the air than the Embassy's PM2.5 monitor. During this time, the BEPB recorded 19 "Blue Sky Days" (where the Air Pollution Index (API) measurement is 100 or under). For this same period, the Embassy recorded only 5 days where the air was considered "Good" or "Moderate" according to EPA standards, with the remainder being in the "Unhealthy" category. In addition, the Embassy recorded 6 days at the "Hazardous" level, indicating that there were more dangerous air days in Beijing during that month than healthy days. Despite the Embassy's determination that Beijing's air quality is usually "unhealthy" at best, the BEPB on November 20 proudly declared that Beijing had already met its 260 "Blue Sky Day" target 41 days before the end of the year. ¶4. (SBU) While the Embassy's declared purpose for the monitor is to provide for the health and safety of American citizens in Beijing, another benefit of making the data available via Twitter is that the monitor has become a useful guide for international residents in Beijing to determine their daily activities. [NOTE: Twitter is currently blocked to the Chinese public, though there is no lack of creativity in getting around these prohibitions. The U.S. and other countries' embassies do not use Chinese internet providers, and therefore are able to view the site freely. END NOTE] ESTH has been informed by other European Embassies that they regularly refer to the U.S. Twitter site as well, and that several of them have asked for funding to purchase their own monitors. [NOTE: ESTH has since learned that the Finnish Embassy has a PM2.5 monitor, and is finding the same discrepancies with its data versus the BEPB's data. END NOTE] ¶5. (SBU) The Chinese public only has access to the PM10 pollution data provided by the BEPB. When it was reported in the press that the US Embassy was publicizing its PM2.5 data, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in ESTHOffs to complain that the differences in data was "confusing" and potentially destabilizing [Ref. B]. However, ESTHOffs have learned that Chinese academics, scientists and officials do unofficially monitor PM2.5 using their own instruments, though they do not publicly publish the results. Public Half-Truth: Air is improving BEIJING 00003179 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶6. (SBU) There have been numerous local and international press reports touting Beijing's air quality improvements. Most recent was an article in the November 21 issue of the China Daily that reported the BEPB's reaching its 260 "Blue Sky Day" target early. An October 16 article in the NY Times also referenced the increasing number of "Blue Sky Days" reported by the BEPB as evidence that Beijing's air quality is improving. Beijing has indeed taken steps to improve air quality, such as converting millions of home heating boilers from coal to gas, moving factories farther from the city center, establishing increasingly stringent vehicle emission standards, taking vehicles off the road through an odd-even system, and offering rebates for trading in older vehicles. While these changes have undoubtedly made significant improvements to Beijing's air, the stories of Beijing air quality improvement provide a misleading picture. ¶7. (SBU) One reason the BEPB's claims of improving air quality lack credibility is because its pollution index numbers are frequently manipulated to meet annual quotas and performance standards [Ref. A]. YU Jianhua, head of the environmental monitoring center for the BEPB, recently admitted to engineering data to meet air quality goals. During a July press conference, when answering a question regarding the disproportionate number of days that fell within the "Blue Sky" target, he admitted this was because the local government used emergency measures such as closing down construction sites near monitor locations on days when it expected pollution would exceed targets. Measuring the Wrong Pollutant -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Even if the numbers were not manipulated, they still do not report the right information. China has developed and implemented standards for PM10 pollution levels, while the international standard is for PM2.5. China's PM10 standards are also less stringent than WHO or other international standards. PM2.5 is a finer particle that can deeply penetrate the lungs and is more directly related to negative public health impacts and is also the largest contributor to air visibility problems from smog. ¶9. (SBU) While the Chinese environmental authorities are capable of measuring PM2.5 [Ref. B], China does not yet have national PM2.5 standards and therefore does not make PM2.5 data available. Since only PM10 data is released, and there is good news about this part of the air pollution story, an overly optimistic interpretation of Beijing's air quality is a common misperception that is widely reported. Unofficial Understanding: The Air is Still Horrible -------------- -------------- ¶10. (U) In private meetings and public conferences that include Chinese academics, government officials, and scientists, there is broader agreement and understanding of the magnitude of the PM2.5 problem. In a presentation on October 23 at the International Workshop on Vehicle Emission Control, TANG Dang, Director of the Vehicle Emission Control Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) identified PM2.5 emissions as a major pollutant that is still causing "large damage to human health and requires attention." On October 26 at the 5th Regional Air Quality Management Conference (RAQM),WANG Ruibin of the National Environment Monitoring Center said that PM2.5 is one of the most important factors impacting air pollution in China. Professor CHAI Fahe, from the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, also presented a graph displaying the "huge difference between the API (Air Pollution Index) and visibility" for Beijing, which is attributed to high levels of PM2.5 pollution. He noted that "the air quality is getting better, but the status is still very serious." ¶11. (SBU) In addition to the admission that more attention needs to be paid to the problem of PM2.5 pollution, there is further acknowledgement of a lack of capacity of China's air quality monitoring system to properly evaluate air quality. During a presentation at the RAQM, ZHONG Liuju from the Guangdong Environmental Monitoring Center said that quality assurance and quality control of the air quality monitoring systems is poor and that published API is not consistent with residents' observations. In a meeting with Embassy and EPA officials on October 26, Professor QI Ye of Tsinghua University and Chief Representative of the China Sustainable Energy Program for the Energy Foundation, stated that with respect to the air quality monitoring system in China, "everybody knows that the data is not reliable, not accurate, not complete, and not available to the public or to each other." Improvements Coming? -------------- BEIJING 00003179 003 OF 003 ¶12. (SBU) The consensus among academics and officials that China needs to regulate more pollutants is leading to efforts to incorporate a multi-pollutant control strategy in the 12th Five Year Plan which will likely include PM2.5 standards. MA Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environment Affairs, was quoted in the November 21 China Daily article saying that he would like to see PM2.5 particles included in China's measurement system because they are more dangerous to people's health than PM10. Vice President HE Kebin of Tsinghua University's Graduate School, in a presentation at the RAQM, showed a graph of the trends of PM2.5 pollution from 1999-2006, and noted that not only are organic pollutants increasing, but other pollutants such as NOx need to be addressed or China risks undermining the gains made in SO2 and acid rain reduction. This was echoed by WANG Ruibin of the National Environment Monitoring Center and JIANG Chunlai from the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning. All presented a case for including PM2.5 and strengthening the standards, monitoring, verification and supervision of an enhanced system of air quality management for the 12th Five Year Plan. Conclusion -------------- ¶13. (SBU) In view of the Chinese authorities lack of PM2.5 reporting, the Embassy PM2.5 monitor fills a vital gap between the official PM10 monitoring system and the un-publishable PM2.5 information, providing a much needed "reality check" on the pollution situation in Beijing. The fact that the US Embassy has only one air quality monitor in a single location and that it measures different particulates from the BEPB monitoring system allows enough "space" for Chinese officials to claim that the two cannot be directly compared. At the same time, however, the continuous flow of hourly data demonstrates how easy monitoring this pollutant and reporting it to the public can be, quietly applying pressure on the Chinese government to follow suit.