Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

 On October 10, a Web user from North China's Hebei Province posted on his Sina Weibo account a photo showing a banner hung by the local environmental protection bureau in the city of Xingtai, celebrating the city no longer having the most polluted air in China.

The glee on display in the picture stood in perfect contrast to the hazy sky behind it, straining the boundaries of credibility and setting those in the photo up for ridicule.

The photo was released amid yet another bout with thick fog and haze in northern China. It soon drew wide criticism and sarcasm from Web users, a majority of whom said the photo showed perfectly the complacency of officials at the local environmental protection bureau, seemingly content to celebrate their ascension from last place in a ranking of China's 74 major cities with relatively high PM2.5.

Other netizens, however, showed understanding of the controversial banner. Xingtai was not the only city suffering from the recent heavy air pollution. The Beijing Meteorological Bureau issued an orange pollution alert last week after four consecutive days of dense fog and haze. Some netizens believe that even making a little bit of progress helped to encourage the staff at Xingtai environmental protection bureau and is worth commending. 

Xingtai, located in the southern part of Hebei Province, was labeled "China's dirtiest city" by foreign media after it occupied last place in the list of 74 cities for seven months in a row.

Its geographical position, in a groove next to the Taihang Mountains, along with its excessive reliance on heavy industry such as mining, steel and glassworks, are the main reasons for its heavy pollution.

High humidity, little wind and straw burning all helped contribute to the most recent spate of fog and haze. The local environmental bureau has tried to stem the tide, but their progress is yet to be evidently felt by the public.

Meanwhile, there are some optimistic developments in coping with public activities amid frequent smog in North and Central China. Many schools organized physical education classes indoors and suspended outdoor activities.

These cases have set good examples and encouraged society to further explore ways to deal with awful air quality.

When PM2.5 peaked in Paris in mid-March, the French government halved the number of automobiles circulating across the city and provided free public transportation including buses, subways, and bicycles for three days. China can seek to design its own solutions using the experience of the city of light.

Although the most recent air quality episode was dispersed by a cold front, we are still live under the threat of periodic heavy smog.

No matter what Xingtai environmental protection bureau and other environment bureaus might say or do when they feel they've made progress, they should continue to do everything they can to tackle the gargantuan task in front of them. We shouldn't have to count on gusts of wind to make the air healthy to breathe.

The author is a Global Times reporter. wangxiaonan@globaltimes.com.cn