A sultry haze still shrouds Olympics

Beijing: Olympic host city Beijing was shrouded in haze on Monday, 11 days before the Games begin, raising anxieties about whether it can deliver the clean skies promised for the world's top athletes.

The city's chronic pollution, an acrid mix of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and factory and power plant fumes, has been one of the biggest worries for Games organisers.

Beijing has ordered cars off roads and halted much construction and factory production in an effort to cut pollution before the Games open on August 8.

But a sultry haze persisted yesterday, and state media said Beijing might be forced to restrict more cars and shut more factories if the pollution persists.

City officials had earlier said the haze was due to humid weather, not pollution. But state media yesterday suggested Games organisers were also worried and considering bigger pollution cuts.

"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," the China Daily said.

The official line

Xinhua said the air quality in Beijing yesterday was Grade II, which means "fairly good," with the main pollutant being particulate matter. No details were given.

An official in the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau confirmed plans for more cuts were being studied, but declined to give details.

"The measures will be put into place if air quality turns out to be short of the standards we have promised," the official, who would only give his surname Zhang, told Reuters by telephone.

Many athletes have delayed arriving in Beijing until the last minute to avoid the pollution and the International Olympic Committee said it may reschedule endurance events to prevent health risks to athletes if the air is bad.

Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie has already pulled out of the marathon because of fears of damaging his health.

And yesterday, the Australian Olympic Committee said its athletes would be allowed to withdraw if pollution poses a threat. "For us the athlete's attitude to the event is paramount," AOC vice president Peter Montgomery told reporters.

For four days now, Beijing had not experienced a "blue sky day", when the air pollution index stays below the national standard for "good air quality". Hong Kong, host of the equestrian events, was also badly polluted yesterday after a week of clear, blustery weather.

Desperate measures

Cars in Beijing are now banned on alternate days depending on their licence plate number - odd or even - and many government cars have been ordered off the roads.

Taxis, buses and Olympic vehicles are exempt. Around Beijing, heavily polluting factories, such as steel plants, have also been closed.

A city environment official said last week that air was improving, with a 20 percent cut in carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter since the same time last year.

But Greenpeace gave Beijing a mixed assessment. It noted energy-saving technology in Olympic venues, stricter vehicle emissions standards and expansions to public transport serives.

But it said clean-up efforts were hampered by lack of policy transparency and independently verified data.

Beijing did not even officially collect statistics on smaller particulate matter and ozone, pollutants that worry health experts, Greenpeace said.

"Beijing has also missed a golden opportunity in using the Games as a platform to implement more ambitious initiatives," said Lo.

Clean air vs polluted air: