VZCZCXRO1371
PP RUEHAST RUEHCN RUEHDH RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #3179/01 3310858
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270858Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6954
INFO RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

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.