Out, damned smog

TIME to clear the air. China has vowed that 60 per cent of its cities will meet its pollution standards by 2020. At the moment few do. China’s State Council made the pledge on Sunday as part of a plan “Thanks to polluting industry, China’s smogs dwarf those of most cities in developed countries” for growing the urban population. Thanks to polluting industries, China’s smogs dwarf those of most cities in rich countries. That includes Paris, which this week suffered its worst smog since 1997, with levels of particulate matter reaching 147 micrograms per cubic metre. But the freak French pollution is the norm for cities like Beijing, which often struggles with levels above 100 mg. The recommended limit is 20 mg. Smog may kill 2.1 million people a year, many of them in China, and people are starting to protest. Fearful of popular unrest, last year China promised to cut the pollution released by industry by almost a third by 2017, and to spend $283 billion cleaning up Beijing and the surrounding area. The smog is so bad that as of last week, the Japanese electronics giant Panasonic will pay its expat employees in Beijing extra as compensation for putting up  with the poor air quality.