2 . Politicians and officials across the world — at local, regional (区域性的) and national level — have been coming up with new ideas to reduce air pollution. More recently, some have pointed the finger at countryside “contributions” to air pollution in the developing world, especially in India and China. During Diwali celebrations at the end of October last year, New Delhi’s pollution level was off the charts, cementing (巩固) the Indian capital’s status as the world’s most polluted large city and causing a nationwide debate on India’s killing smog (雾霾).

Official data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee showed dangerous levels of smog, with concentrations (浓度) of both PM2.5 and PM10 hitting levels more than 30 times the World Health Organization’s recommended 24 hour average limit. Over the last few years India has held many conferences and workshops to find a solution to the smog. A regional approach is the most common suggestion to have appeared from these conferences, but the situation on the ground has not changed. In fact, it is getting worse with each passing year.

India has more than 100 coal-based power factories with old technology, with burning of crop remains adding to the emissions (排放物). And New Delhi’s grievous pollution is the result of a harmful mixture of emissions from vehicles and coal-fired power factories, fumes (烟) from cooking stoves and crop-burning in neighboring provinces. In Beijing, where air pollution is being treated as a health emergency, the government can order cars off the road and shut down schools and industries if particulates (微粒) threaten to rise to the highest WHO level — New Delhi’s level of pollution is unimaginable in Beijing.

North China, which battles smog in the winter, also has the problem of crop burning. Some local governments in China are punishing farmers who burn their crop remains and thus contributes to the air pollution in nearby cities. The problem is, farmers often burn crop remains as it is the only way to treat remains, and they have to burn coals to keep warm during the freezing winter in North China because they lack other means of heating.

Some will say this reflects elements of unbalanced economic development and the unfairness between countryside and urban areas is at the heart of the issue. Many people ask what options farmers have to keep themselves warm in the winter except by burning crop remains. Ideally, they should be provided with alternative energy sources, solar power or natural gas for example, to keep their homes warm in the freezing winter.

This can be achieved by China without much difficulty, because the country leads the world in investment in renewable energy. The plan, however, needs to be targeted at countryside farmers if we want them to stop adding to the air pollution of cities. Such a development is something I look forward to during my visits to China.