You’re Grounded!

The Problem

When it comes to air pollution, there’s bad, and then there’s Beijing bad. The air quality was so poor in the major Chinese city during the fourth quarter of 2016 that officials took the unusual step of grounding air flights from the Beijing airport. The reason: Pilots couldn’t see the runway on landing approach, even from only a few hundred feet in the air.

Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The Cause

Officials attributed the heavy smog to a number of factors, including automobile exhaust, a drop in temperatures that resulted in increased use of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, a spike in humidity that kept smog in place, and the coal-burning factories and plants in the area.

Worst yet, Beijing wasn’t the only hotspot. In the Sichuan province, more than 20,000 people were stuck at that local airport one day after flights were grounded because of heavy smog.

The Solution

In an effort to limit these instances, Beijing is experimenting with as new police force, which is tasked with tracking down environmental offenders. So, the new squad will be on the lookout for people burning garbage, organic fuel like wood or moss or barbequing in the open. In addition, the local government has pledged to close the city’s coal-fired energy plant, reducing coal consumption by 30 percent. Officials also want to removed older vehicles from the road, and improve some road conditions, which kick up dust from use.

Still, issues remain. In the region, regulatory violations are openly flaunted by companies, with industries continuing production even when told to cease because of pollution concerns. There’s no word whether the new police squad will enforce industrial regulations.

All this comes at a time when Chinese workers are becoming more anxious about pollution levels, with sales of personal filtration masks and novelty “fresh air” canisters at an all-time high.

Credit: The Washington Post

AeraMax PRO combats bad air

To this end, AeraMax Professional has redoubled efforts to bring commercial-grade air filtration systems to more Chinese companies, in a move to improve overall indoor air quality. AeraMax Professional air purifiers have been proven to remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants from indoor spaces, making them a perfect way to combat bad air coming in.