An ode to 'blue sky' days

Here are  the questions of the day when it comes to air quality and the Beijing Summer Olympic Games: Do you believe your eyes? Or do you believe your ears?

That is because what you see out the window does not match what Chinese officials say you should be seeing.

Today is a good _ but not clear _ example. I took the accompanying photos from my 14th floor office window overlooking the Avenue of Everlasting Peace, Beijing’s main drag. Air quality is pretty bad. I can barely see past the Second Ring Road, which is three long blocks away. Looking East, I can’t see the Third Ring Road.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, meeting the press in an annual news conference (that is correct: he meets the Beijing press corps just once a year), was asked about air quality. An NBC television reporter began his question noting that an Ethiopian world-record marathoner decided this week not to take part in the Beijing Games marathon, citing the bad air quality. Read my story from yesterday on this topic here.

“Especially on a day like that which we have in Beijing right now,” the reporter went on, “and the Olympics so close at hand, what would you all say to the athletes of other countries and their governments as to the quality of air by the time the Olympics arrive this August?”

Yang responded exactly in the following way:

“I believe most athletes who are going to take part in the Olympic Games in Beijing are satisfied with the air quality, environment and sports facilities in Beijing. They have full confidence in these conditions.

“It’s up to debate whether China is a strong sports country or a major sports country. But there is one thing for sure: Many athletes in the world have broken world records in Beijing. If they can’t break world records in other places, maybe they can come to Beijing, where they will have better luck.”

“China takes climate change seriously. And the Chinese government has taken a full range of effective measures to tackle climate change. I believe that the air quality will only become better and better in Beijing.”

This comes a day after Zhang Lijun, the deputy chief of the State Environmental Protection Administration, also said air quality is getting better. He repeated that China has seen the number of “blue sky" days increase from just 100 in 1998 to 246 last year.

That point, however, needs some clarification. When Chinese officials talk about “blue sky” days, they don’t mean days when the sky is really blue. They mean days when sunshine can penetrate the haze and create a shadow. The sky is still an icky gray. We do get occasional clear days in Beijing when the sky is blue but they are a tiny fraction of the 246 “blue sky” days.

So there you have it. Are you going to believe what you see? Or believe what you are told?

Oh, and if you’re a suspicious sort, and want to check the facts, be forewarned that if you open up this webpage that used to offer a daily reading of air pollution levels in Beijing, it now comes up completely blank. Apparently the state environmental bureau doesn’t think this is useful information anymore with tens of thousands of people descending on the Chinese capital.

Just enjoy your “blue sky" day, like today, and be done with it.

Comments

[nanheyangrouchuan]

Typically China: dirty, broken, dark and eeevile.

Denial is actually not a river in Egypt, it begins and ends in China and is too polluted for any form of life.

The decision of the Ethiopian runner is to be applauded and his example followed by other athletes who can wait for 2012 in London.

[Yao]

"Many athletes in the world have broken world records in Beijing. If they can’t break world records in other places, maybe they can come to Beijing, where they will have better luck."

If you think about it, this was actually a very strong argument(if it's true), which pointed out whether an athlete is able to break his or her personal record has nothing to do with air quality. Though the air condition out there do seem pretty disturbing. When I saw the news about the Ethiopian marathoner's withdrawl on CNN, I intuitively casted doubt on what he said for not going to the game.

[A B]

All they need is a bit of transparency!

Hey, it is fair game to note that the air is bad now, and will remain bad well before the games and afterwards.

But in all fairness to the Beijing Olympics Committee and the very capable people working on the air quality problem, a bit of reporting on the drastic measures they intend to take just before the games to clear the air would be nice.

I understand that they intend to shut down many factories, polluters, and limit traffic etc. shortly before the games to curb air pollution.

By no means does this excuse them from inadequate action the rest of the time.... but still, they are trying.

Why not give them a hearing and let the world's experts on air quality judge whether their measures will make a meaningful difference in air quality during the games.

Let's play fair.

[Bill]

Time to get some harmonized glasses.

[Bill]

I think the Ethiopian athlete has an ulterior motive unbecoming of an athlete - his health. He should die competing just to save China's face.

[Bill]

A B: Would you spend your own money - millions - to monitor the Beijing air and report, or do you expect China to pay for your monitoring and effort too ? And why air quality experts and not the athletes themselves ? Who is more concern about the athletes health, the athletes or the air quality experts, using Chinese data ?

[Bill]

I just discovered a strange phenomenon: There seems to be only one webcam in Beijing, one showing the top of a roof.

If you search the web for webcams for most cities in the world, you would find dozens if not hundreds in every city. You can clearly see what the weather and the sky is like in every city outside China quite easily for yourself and not have to rely on the government to tell you whether it is really raining. But not in Beijing.

Is the weather condition and sky in Beijing a state secret that we have to rely on blogs to get the color of the sky in Beijing ?

[Zane Thomas]

For the past two years I have spent the entire month of August studying wushu at the shichahai sports school. We train hard four hours per day, 5 days per week, and 2 hours each saturday morning. Anyone who knows of wushu and shichahai will know how physically demanding that is.

I turned 57 last August 6th, training for my birthday, and it seems ridiculous to me that the world's top athletes, less than half my age, would complain so much about the air-quality in Beijing.

And, not only are they top athletes, they are competing for fame and fortune. Maybe they should suck it up and eat some bitter so the sweetness is better, as the saying goes, more or less.

Yes, the air-quality in Beijing is not as good as it is here in Seattle. But I grew up in the Los Angeles basin dur the 50s and 60s and the air pollution then was much worse than I have ever experienced in Beijing. There were countless days when my eyes watered and my lungs ached.

[kt]

If they were competing for fame and fortune, they almost certainly would not be olympic athletes... How much money does a retired pole-vaulter make, anyway?

If the air is nasty - I'd stay home, too.

[nanheyangrouchuan]

@Zane;

The athletes in the Olympics are the top of the heap in the world because they take care of their bodies and that includes the air, water and food they take in.

China's martial arts teams also train indoors for that same reason.

[Pffefer]

nh, bad air is just another reason for you to get the hell out. What are you waiting for?

[Zane Thomas]

nanheyangrouchuan (what a name! )

I have spent many hours watching the beijing wushu team practice and have spent much time individually with some of the members; and I can tell you that they drink the same water and breath the same air as most everyone else in beijing. And, of course, like me they enjoy the good street food and restuarants of Beijing! hehehe

I wonder how many people who are making such a fuss about the air quality in Beijing have actually been there. I think it's not many.

[Zane Thomas]

kt,

You make a good point. It seems my rhetoric about fame and fortune was a bit too much. But still, gold medal winners in any sport have, I believe, assured themselves a future of some sort in that sport. And, of course, some gold medal winners will become famous and make considerable money from advertising and so on.

[nanheyangrouchuan]

@Zane;

Any elite athlete does not eat "commoner" food except as a snack. That is part of the cost of being elite. You've never heard of a "training table"? I also have a hard time believing that a foreigner is allowed to watch the PRC Olympic team train, China is big on secrets if you haven't found out by now. Not calling you a liar (pfeffer is a bold faced liar) but it's a stretch for any foreigner to say that they have such exclusive access.
Heck, the majority of practice sessions for the US Olympic Team are closed to everyone, even family.
And China would lose major face if their wu shu team lost to a foreign devil, so I doubt that anyone gets to hang out in the practice areas (which are indoors, even in the US, again for controlled access as well as climate control.

[Zane Thomas]

nanheyangrouchuan,

Please understand that I did not say anything about watching anyone from the PRC Olympic team. And you can believe it or not but I have spent many hours watching the Beijing Wushu Team train at ShiChaHai ... but somehow all that watching just doesn't make me equal! :-)

I am finished with this conversation now.

[kt]

Zane,

You are probably right about athletes having a future of some sort - I grew up playing soccer in the U.S. After college you retire or move to Europe. For what it is worth, I'm jealous of your experiences in China... and I've never been to Europe.

[ABC]

Zane,

You should ignore nanheyangrouchuan. He is the famous China-basher you will find on almost every China related blogs. Whatever you say something good about China he will say otherwise. Whatever you say something bad about China, he will say something worse. His logic is very mechanical. So what is the point of arguing with him? Simply give him some space to vent for his hatre of CCP. At least he adds different color to this blog community.

[Alykhan Virani]

We are all hypocrites in this world. Hey, if you find the problem of pollution so bad, why are you driving your car and why are you firing your outdoor barbeque? That all adds to global warming. Beijing is just an excuse-collectively we are worse.