North China's Hebei province issued an orange alert for air quality on Thursday because of severe air pollution that will envelop the province and neighboring regions from Friday to Sunday, according to the Hebei Environmental Protection Bureau. It is the second time this year that Hebei, typically shrouded by heavy smog in winter, has issued a regional alert. The first orange alert - the second-highest level for air pollution - was issued in early November. "Because of a new round of disadvantageous weather, including low atmospheric pressure, slow winds and high humidity, it is hard for airborne pollutants to disperse," said Wang Xiaoli, director of Hebei province's Environmental Emergency and Heavy Pollution Weather Forewarning Center. Though weather conditions will keep severe smog around for three days, pollutants discharged into the air remain the primary source, he said. Under an orange alert, emergency responses to the pollution were started on Thursday in 10 cities in the province. More than 6,000 polluting companies will take turns suspending operations and another 8,000 firms will temporarily reduce emissions to ensure a reduction of at least 20 percent during the period. Cities in neighboring Henan province, such an Anyang, will also suffer from severe air pollution, while the air in Beijing and Tianjin will be slightly affected, Wang said. Air quality is expected to improve starting on Sunday night, with the influence of a cold front that will disperse pollutants. Northern China usually experiences worsening air quality in late autumn and winter partly due to less wind and increased emissions from heating sources, especially coal burning. According to the provincial environmental protection bureau, 30 percent more pollutants are discharged in Hebei during the heating season. To cope with that, Hebei is replacing coal for family heating with electricity or gas, shutting down illegal polluting companies and limiting production in heavy industries such as iron, steel and coking. The province is also increasing its investment in technology for environmental monitoring to better forecast smog and control pollutants. "We are considering introducing high-tech instruments that use a LIDAR - or light detection and ranging system - to precisely monitor particulate matter in the air," said Huang Yunlong, who works at the bureau's development service center. According to Huang, the instruments are carried in a vehicle and can monitor a certain area's pollutants in three-dimensional space, unlike traditional stationary monitors. The province's average density of PM 2.5 - particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns - fell by 25.3 percent year-on-year in the last two months to 62 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the monitoring center. [email protected]create your own silicone wristbandsilicone keychaincustom fidgetsilicone rubber bandsmotivational bracelets for athletes
Shaanxi Guard Agriculture Technology Ltd was founded in October to produce drones that can detect pests in fields. However, like many small startups, the company is struggling to find investors. The company has produced prototype drones that photograph crops such as grapes and kiwi fruits to detect pests, thereby helping to improve yields and the quality of produce, but so far no one has offered the company any funding for the project. The drones are expected to retail at about 10,000 yuan ($1,480) each. In large farms, it's difficult to detect pests, but the company's experiments have indicated that the drones, which use spectrum photography, can provide more accurate results than traditional monitoring via remote sensing. Once the pests have been identified, the drones are used to spray insecticides that will kill them. We have invented high-altitude spectrum cameras; they are the core hardware for the drones. The drones are easy to operate, and we work with other agricultural companies to provide solutions and kill pests, said Tuo Menglang, one of the company's managers. Currently, Shaanxi Guard is operating on capital provided by its three founders, who are continuing to search for investors. The founders' money is not sustainable, and outside financing is the only way to keep the company running, Tuo said. But many investors give us the cold shoulder when they learn that we only employ seven people. Su Baofeng, one of the founders and an associate professor at the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in Shaanxi province, has visited Japan to learn about similar drones. At present, many farms are family-run concerns, but as consolidation takes place in the sector and farms grow in size, Su believes the company's drones will be vital to ensuring greater productivity. When large farms dominate the sector, the market potential for our drones will be enormous and they will be in great demand, he said.
