Beijing takes measures to bring cleanest winter in years while Delhi does nothing

As Delhi chokes under the blanket of heavy smog, the Beijing government on Wednesday said it had deployed new measures that will see the cleanest winter in China's capital in years.

Beijing has rolled out the toughest measures yet in recent weeks ahead of the winter, which usually sees the worst air pollution in the capital.

Besides its four-tier system of alerts that call for emergency measures from stopping construction sites to odd-even vehicle bans, the capital has also pushed through larger structural changes.

For instance, to reduce air pollution that coincides with the turning on of central heating systems and raised coal burning, the city has operationalised the fourth of its gas-fired plants, which will go on trial this week before the heating period begins. The four plants will cut coal consumption by 9.2 million tonnes, authorities said.

Stricter checks on construction companies have also been put in place. "Nine construction companies have been caught breaking dust control rules and have been suspended from bidding on projects in Beijing for the next 30 days," the official Xinhua news agency said.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection added that "more than 3,000 trucks were caught illegally carrying construction materials and over 1,500 high-emission vehicles were prevented from entering the city Sunday. Inspections at 751 companies found 47 problems such as airborne dust at construction sites."

Ahead of a forecast of four days of pollution set to last until Tuesday night, an orange alert was deployed not only in Beijing but in surrounding areas in four provinces to limit use of vehicles, step up pollution controls in construction sites, limit transport of construction material and stop production in some factories, state media said. 

As Delhi grapples with rising pollution, Beijing's average PM2.5 particulate density dropped to 60 microgram per cubic meter in the first three quarters of this year, Xinhua said. This was down 3.2 per cent compared with the same period last year, and down 34.8 per cent compared with 2013.