Shanghai rolls out plan to clear the air

Vehicles will be restricted on the roads and schools closed on days when there is heavy smog in Shanghai, under a plan released by the municipal government, China Youth Daily reported.

The city in April drew up the emergency plan for days of heavy pollution, drafting a range of policies including banning more cars from the roads when there is severe air pollution, Wu Qizhou, deputy director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, told the newspaper.

The city has also announced a plan aimed at reducing the concentration of PM2.5 — particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less — by 20 percent by 2017 from the level in 2012, the report said.

It will also weed out the remaining 180,000 highly polluting vehicles from its roads by 2015 and implement National Standard V, equivalent to the European standard V, for emissions from all buses by the end of this year, the report added.