Consulates told to stop releasing air quality data

By Dong Zhen   |   ONLINE EDITION

2012-6-5  17:51

---

THE Ministry of Environmental Protection today asked foreign consulates in China to stop releasing air pollution data to the public, calling their practice technically inaccurate and in violation of China's internal affairs.

The US Consulate General in Shanghai followed the American Embassy in Beijing to release the hourly PM2.5 readings since early May.

PM2.5 stands for airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, which are the main cause of urban smog and are harmful to human health.

The sometimes big differences in the readings released by the US consulates and by the Chinese environment monitoring centers have stirred a controversy and fueled the discontent of the Chinese public.
Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing said at today's press conference that "some foreign consular offices" should abide by the Chinese law and stop releasing air quality readings, which are not accurate.

"People may have noticed that the official PM2.5 readings released by Beijing and Shanghai watchdogs are basically the same as those released by some consulates. However, their interpretations are sharply different. That's because they use the air quality standards of their own countries to evaluate the air conditions of our country. This is obviously unreasonable," Wu said.

There's no major difference between today's air quality reports provided by the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center and by the US Consulate in Shanghai. But on May 14 Shanghai's official air quality rating was "good" while the consulate's rating was "unhealthy for sensitive groups."

The US consulate publishes its PM2.5 readings and precautions every hour in the "US Citizen Services" section of its official website.