China's Wuhan city covered in mysterious haze

A thick yellow cloud covers a busy intersection in Wuhan on June 11
A thick yellow cloud covers a busy intersection in Wuhan on June 11. Wuhan was blanketed by thick yellowish cloud Monday, raising fears of pollution among its nine million inhabitants, residents told AFP. Witnesses said the haze appeared suddenly in the morning, and residents rushed to put on face masks.

Young and old residents of the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan were advised to stay indoors on Monday after a thick haze blanketed the city of nine million people, official media said.

Described by residents as opaque with yellowish and greenish tinges, the fug descended suddenly in the morning, prompting people to rush to put on , witnesses told AFP.

The official quoted the environmental protection department of Hubei province saying in a statement: "Children, the elderly and people with heart or are advised to stay indoors."

Xinhua said straw burning was the cause and denied there had been any industrial accidents in or near Wuhan, after Internet rumours suggested there had been an explosion at a chemical complex northeast of the city.

"I looked out of the window of my office and I could not believe my eyes," said resident Li Yunzhong.

"At first I thought it was going to rain. In 31 years in Wuhan I have never known anything like it. We are very worried because we do not know what it is."

France's consulate-general in the central city advised residents to stay at home, close their windows and limit the use of air-conditioning.

"The source of the thick cloud that has covered the city of Wuhan since this morning is at present unknown," it said on its website.

Residents rushed to put on face masks when they saw the haze in Wuhan on Monday
Chinese motorists wear masks as they make their way along a busy intersection in Wuhan on June 11. Wuhan was blanketed by thick yellowish cloud Monday, raising fears of pollution among its nine million inhabitants, residents told AFP. Witnesses said the haze appeared suddenly in the morning, and residents rushed to put on face masks.

" have promised us the information as soon as possible."

Xinhua described the haze as grey-yellow in colour and said it was seen in seven cities in Hubei province, including Wuhan.

is increasingly acute in major Chinese cities and authorities are frequently accused of underestimating the severity of the problem in , especially in Beijing.

Air-quality monitoring showed Wuhan's PM10 particulate concentration stood at 0.574 mg per cubic metre at 2:00 pm, more than triple the daily average of 0.150 mg, Xinhua reported.

But it quoted the environmental protection department saying industrial accidents were not responsible and analysis showed an increase in carbon particles from burning organic matter.

"Many farmers choose to burn crops that are left behind in their fields after harvesting," Xinhua said.

But Li was sceptical. "I doubt that," he said. "We don't practise large-scale shifting agriculture in our region."

Another resident told AFP she was leaving the city because of the cloud.

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province and an industrial centre where many foreign firms have set up factories, including the French automotive group PSA Peugeot Citroën.

Alstom also manufactures boilers for coal-fired power plants there.

China's environment suffers from industrial pollution, increasing traffic and lax protection measures.

Official air-quality statistics are sometimes at odds with non-government measurements, and are often viewed with distrust.

(c) 2012 AFP

Citation: China's Wuhan city covered in mysterious haze (2012, June 11) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2012-06-china-wuhan-city-mysterious-haze.html
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