At the 3rd Session of the 13th Guangzhou People's Congress, Ding Hongdu, Director of Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection, said that Guangzhou's current air quality observation system should be improved to better deal with the dust-haze. He pointed out that more items as well as data should be introduced into the current air quality observation system. In addition, Guangzhou should learn from the experience of developed countries and monitor the atmospheric environment against relevant national standards.

Ding said that the relevant data showed that motor vehicles had become one of the major pollutant producers, causing 46% of the air pollution in Guangzhou.

Motor vehicles had become one of the major pollutant producers (File photo)

Guangzhou boasts 1.05 million four-wheel motor vehicles. With an annual growth of over 100,000 vehicles, the end of 2008 would witness 1.2 million such vehicles. So far, the government departments in charge of environmental protection have launched a series of measures like National III Standard to curb tail gas emissions.

Also, Guangzhou would focus on the control of tail gas emissions by cargo vehicles. Instead of spot checks, all cargo vehicles should be checked regularly. Any cargo vehicle failing to meet the standard of tail gas emissions should be forbidden from operating.

Ding added that Guangzhou Municipality's Bureau of Environmental Protection has worked jointly with the Guangzhou Meteorological Bureau three times during the past two month in order to establish a mechanism to deal with the dust-haze. In such a mechanism, Guangzhou Meteorological Bureau will conduct analysis of the causes of dust-haze, based on which Guangzhou Municipality's Bureau of Environmental protection would make detailed administrative measures.