Crop Waste, Coal Burning Blamed for Off-the-Scale Smog Levels

(Beijing) — Coal that's burned to power winter heating systems plus local governments' failure to curb illicit incineration of crop waste in northeastern regions are largely to blame for the latest bout of smog, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

PM2.5 particulates — airborne pollutants 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter — registered as a main pollutant in the latest bout of foul air, which affected 10 provinces and municipalities in northern and eastern China from Nov. 3 to 6, according to Gong Zhengyu, head of the China National Environmental Monitoring Center.