Light rain disperses haze in Wuhan

Heavy smog has also shrouded several cities in central China. In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, the haze was finally gone thanks to a light rain two days ago. Wuhan is also among the other major Chinese cities that have started issuing a stricter Air Quality Index, or AQI, in the new year.

On the new Air Quality Index, under 50 stands for excellent. But for the past two weeks, Wuhan saw its AQI soaring to 277, 284 and even 301. The serious pollution had people wearing masks. The old and young were advised to remain indoors. And drivers were more cautious on the road.

Wuhan reinforced monitoring, analysis, early warnings and publishing of information on the smog. Eight measures were taken to reduce pollutants, including reduction of polluters' output, suspension of waste transport on construction sites, minimizing floating dust emission by road cleaning, and clamping down on operation of heavily polluting vehicles.

An expert from the Municipal Weather Forecast Bureau explained the reason for the lingering, heavy haze.

Yao Wangling, chief forecaster of Wuhan Municipal Weather Bureau, said:"There's been barely any precipitation in Wuhan since late December 2012. The cold anticyclone allowed the weather to clear up. The temperature rose with weak winds. The temperature inversion layer kept suspended particles concentrated and hard to disperse. We took the advantage of favorable atmospheric conditions to create artificial rain on the 20th. This helped improve air quality, but it was only a makeshift. Controling pollutant generation and discharge is the permanent cure."

Wei Hongming is a Senior Engineer at the Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau. He says Wuhan will integrate the pollution treatment practice to facilitate the study and management of atmospheric pollution.

Wei Hongming, Sr. engineer of Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau, said:"We strengthened our study over smog. The experience will provide a solid foundation for our Urban Air Quality Planning and hazy weather emergency preparedness, which is now under formulation."

The AQI finally dropped under 150, which is slightly polluted. But what Wuhan residents want is a return to normal life with a blue sky and fresh air.