AT NANYAWO elementary school in Hebei province, near Beijing, the temperature in early December fell below freezing, both outside and in. The teachers took to instructing the six-year-old children in the playground. At least outside it was sunny. The classrooms were unusable because the local government had dismantled the coal-fired boilers for environmental reasons, but not yet installed a replacement heating system. There have been several such incidents this winter in northern China. In Linfen, in neighbouring Shanxi province, villagers say their coal-fired heaters have been taken away but the pipes linking them to the gas system have not arrived. A new slogan recently appeared on walls in the town: “If you burn coal, we’ll see you in the detention centre.”
The authorities in northern China have imposed emergency restrictions until mid-March to control air pollution, which spikes during the winter. Twenty-six cities plus Beijing and Tianjin (which count as provinces) had promised to replace...Continue reading
Source: China http://ift.tt/2jUiUt3
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