The Beijing Times reported that the PM 2.5 levels around street barbecues in Beijing is close to thousand times higher than the readings taken before the charcoal starts to burn. In reaction to this news, Beijing city officials have destroyed over 300 outdoor eateries that use grills as part of a three month campaign to reduce smog.
Despite being a large source of income for many Chinese, barbecues have been pinpointed as a harmful cause of pollution. Hundreds of barbecue grills were confiscated so they wouldn’t be used again. Most Chinese seem to think this step is ridiculous when compared to emergency factory shutdowns, a fuel pollution tax, and traffic limits. Beijing, a huge polluter, has far more problems that barbecue grills.
Both experts and government officials alike believe that one of the main ways to tackle the city’s massive pollution issue is to continue cracking down heavily on vehicle emissions. They believe the focus needs to be on improving fuel quality and emissions control of large diesel work trucks and other heavy equipment.
