|
On Friday, Beijing's skies were the clearest since the start of the 2008 Olympics. And people are more confident than ever of the air quality during the Games.
A week into the Games, and Beijing sees the most beautiful day. Despite the sunshine, the temperature stood at... And the pollution reading was down to seventeen, classified as excellent.
The weather is obviously a major factor in this, but the clear air is also due to the environmental efforts the city has made.
Beijing resident Sha Gang said, "I think yesterday's rainfall helped clear the sky. It's very nice. Beijing has done a good job reducing pollution. They even relocated the capital steel factory and to me, almost two thirds of the vehicles are off the roads now. We're doing our part to support the city."
Amid concerns about Beijing's pollution, environmental experts are confident of air quality during the Games. August has historically been the best month of a year in which most days meet quality standards.
There have been good days and there have been bad days. That's the case in almost every country. And Beijing is certainly not the first Olympic city to deal with pollution.
American tourist Dan Finwall said, "I was confident that the Chinese government would take care of it. I thought it was overexaggerated, probably. We have problems in Los Angeles and other cities. I know Beijing is a big huge city and every city has problems, but we weren't worried."
Beijing weather records show that extremely high temperatures above thirty five degrees Celsius or ninety five Fahrenheit, have only occurred twice in history after lunar-calendar autumn began. People are expecting cooler air as the lunar calendar started on August seventh this year, the day before the opening ceremony.
(CCTV August 16, 2008) | .jpg){kind=logo}
