Authorities must tackle smog

Comment on "Beijing among most polluted areas" (China Daily, March 26)

As the air quality in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province has become worse and worse, it seems citizens in these areas have been forced to become accustomed to this unacceptable situation. The authorities only release warnings about air pollution. When people hear the warning of heavy haze, they can only complain and wear a face mask.

Is it right that air pollution should become part of citizens' daily routine? I was unhappy about the authorities' "advice" that the public should stay indoors to avoid breathing the notorious smog. After all the notorious haze is not a natural disaster, it results from human behaviors.

The heavy air pollution in these areas is because of the backward and heavy polluted industries in this region. The high consumption of coal in these areas, mainly due to industrial production, seriously contributes to the heavy smog. As the environmental official in the article said, finding the sources of pollution is key to the fight against air pollution. I know it's a difficult task to manage the sources of air pollution and it relates to many important issues such as GDP and employment. But the authorities really need to accelerate their attempts to solve it because it is related to everyone's quality of life.

Shen Ying, via e-mail

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