Beijing officials announced a very extensive and impressive plan to try and clear, as much as possible, the highly polluted city air in time for the Olympics.

The suggestions refer to the freeze of all construction and excavation projects, the slow down on steel production and also the shutdown of quarries in and around the capital for the whole summer. Additionally the heavy polluters and four coal-burning plants will have to reduce the emissions by 30% and gas stations and tanker trucks without upgrades to reach environmental standards will be shut down.

According to the Washington Post, the announcements by Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau was made as a new step in the attempt to convince the misbelievers that the city can truly be safe for the August events.

A measure concerning the 3,3 million cars is being discussed, as officials believe that an order to drive on alternate days based on odd and even license numbers, would be highly recommendable. Another banned activity for the summer is the outdoor spray-painting with harmful solvents.

Also, the weather factor is being considered and a plan in case of "extremely negative meteorological conditions" is being finalized.

Even so, the measures can be considered rather gentle. The World Health Organization declared Beijing one of the world’s most polluted cities. On many occasions the city is covered by a mix of highly dangerous substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which bring the health risks to levels five times higher than safety standards recommend.