It was a record that never needed to be broken or even recorded but China plan to do it when they build the world’s largest dust screen. The 17-kilometer project aims to dramatically reduce pollution.
Qinhuangdao Port in Hebei Province saw an extension of nearly 3 kilometres to their 5-kilometer screen, standing at a height of 23 meters. Flour and coal dust pollution coming from the port should be reduced by 40-60 percent with the new fence, reported the Global Times.
The screen is being built by The Hebei Port Group, which also manages Caofeidian Port in Tangshan and Huanghua Port in Cangzhou. When all the ports screens are joined together they are expected to span 17 kilometers, making it the world’s largest.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, reported ECNS.
After a number of orange alerts, a red alert smog warning was issued in northern and eastern China earlier this month, closing businesses and schools. The alert followed several days of severe air pollution that saw visibility reduced to between 30 and 50 meters.
Some 500 Chinese companies were found to be violating measures introduced by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) to reduce fog.
Pollution reducing measures brought in at ports in China are expected to be more heavily enforced this year, reported shipping and logistic news site Joc.