Olympic row brewing with Beijing shrouded in a haze
The Beijing Olympics may be only 10 days away but event organisers are still facing a headache over rising pollution levels as the world’s top athletes descend on the city this week.
As the sun rose above the city skyline, Beijing’s chronic pollution problem was all too evident yesterday as a mixture of vehicle exhausts, construction dust and power plant fumes shrouded the streets in haze.
Beijing officials have tried everything in their power to control the problem, but so far, their efforts have been in vain, raising concerns that the city may not be able to fulfil its promise on air quality.
Vehicles are currently banned from roads on alternate days, while heavy polluting factories and steel plants have ceased operation in a bid to reduce the levels.
Games organisers insist levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide have improved by 20 per cent on last year and blame the recent haze on the hot weather. A reading on the air quality yesterday found Beijing to be Grade II, which means “fairly good”. But still there remains a strong sense of concern among Olympic chiefs and more cuts are likely in the build-up to the 8 August start. Indeed, such cuts were confirmed by an official at the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau yesterday, although not detailed.
An article in the China Daily yesterday, highlighted the concerns. “More vehicles could go off the roads and all construction sites and some more factories in Beijing and its neighbouring areas could be closed temporarily if the capital’s air quality deteriorates during the Olympic Games,” it said.
Legendary long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie has already pulled out of the men’s marathon due to the pollution levels and some athletes are leaving it to the last possible minute to travel to Beijing due to the health risk involved.
The International Olympic Committee are also keeping an eye on the situation and say events may be rescheduled if levels get too high at any one point.
One governing body taking the issue seriously is the Australian Olympic Committee, who said they will allow athletes to withdraw if they are unhappy with conditions.
Vice-president Peter Montgomery said: “For us the athlete’s attitude to the event is paramount.”