The city, Jincheng is a prime example of a Chinese city which is trying to rein in pollution without being detrimental on the economy. Across the north of China, the country is constantly trying to strike a balance between the environmental damage and breakneck growth, by keeping the heavy industrial economies afloat. Still dominated by coal, this city was the worst performer among 28 cities in the north of the country.

Villagers were left without heat last year after Beijing’s ‘war on pollution’ accelerated plans to replace boilers and stoves using coal with units using natural gas, overwhelming the supply of the cleaner burning fuel. Demand for natural gas in mainland China will surge to another record this winter.

China consumers half the world’s coal however because of the pressure to reduce air pollution, China is also a leader in solar and wind power installation in order to try and slow down the coal output. Research has found that new plants do continue to be built and other projects have been delayed, not stopped. Coal consumption in China grew in 2017, and will again in 2018.

Beijing issued its first air pollution for the winter ahead of a wave of smog that is expected to blanket the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as it enters into a yellow level alert. Over the period, construction sites and heavy industry will have to halt operations during these months while the city increases checks on diesel vehicles to ensure they meet emissions standards. At least 28 other cities have also issued orange-level smog alerts.

A steel firm in the Shanxi province has been accused of misrepresenting pollution data and dumping large volumes of waste which has been named and shamed by the Environment Ministry. Many members of the public complained on the excess smoke emissions and the Company, Gaoyi Steel did not respond to repeated requests for a comment.

In the first 10 months of the year, China has prosecuted more than 3,500 people for pollution related crimes which is up nearly 40% on a year ago. Beijing has encouraged courts and polite departments to establish dedicated environmental divisions to help fight the climate change problem.

China prosecuted more than 3,500 people for pollution-related crimes in the first 10 months of the year, up nearly 40 per cent on a year ago.

The news that China is bracing for smog waves as the winter heating season begins has once again put the dangerous levels of air pollution in Asia in the spotlight. With the air in Beijing and adjacent areas expected to become heavily polluted over the next week, China will be facing concern – yet again – over its underwhelming response to the problem.

A University of Chicago study found that across the globe, the average person is losing 1.8 years of life expectancy due to particulate pollution exceeding the WHO's guideline and that's worse than first-hand cigarette smoke, alcohol, HIV/AIDs and conflict. China and Indonesia are badly affected by particulate pollution with their life expectancy cut by seven years and five and a half years respectively.

China will ban the import of 32 types of waste to reduce environmental pollution in line with a new focus on protecting the environment. This regulatory action will go into effect from December 31st according to official news agency Xinhua which cited four Chinese government agencies. Such newly banned product types include hardware, ships, auto parts and stainless steel waste.