DHAKA: Chinese cities should close schools, cut working hours and stop outdoor activities during the most severe spells of air pollution.

China’s environmental protection ministry said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.

‘Every possible compulsory measure’ must be taken to cut emissions during the heaviest smog, which has a serious impact on health, the ministry said, including suspending factory production and imposing traffic restrictions.

The ministry’s guidelines, issued in a circular, come as China grapples with frequent choking smog in its big cities, a consequence of years of breakneck economic growth that has fuelled public anger.

State media recently reported that an eight-year-old-girl who lived near a busy thoroughfare in the coastal province of Jiangsu had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

The case of the girl, called the country’s youngest lung cancer patient, has sparked a public outcry.

BDST: 1729 HRS, NOV 06, 2013
RoR/SRS