The heavy smog covering Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area at the end of October gave a bad mood to residents of North China’s harbor city of Tianjin. But just like treating serious diseases, it is difficult to manage smog.

Finding the source is the essence to cure diseases.

According to Tianjin’s pollution analysis by the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau, 66 percent to 78 percent of its PM2.5 was from local emissions, with the remaining 22 to 34 percent coming from regional transmission.

Dust pollution, coal firing, vehicle exhausts, and industrial emissions take up 30 percent, 27 percent, 20 percent, and 17 percent of the total local emissions respectively.

This year, Tianjin managed its smog by various means, such as system building, technology improvements, and strict monitoring and control.

Managing smog should start from the top.

Tianjin launched an environmental protection project to improve air quality, prevent water pollution, promote the environment of rural areas, and afforest the city. The project sets air quality improvement as its first priority.

The city also worked out a plan to improve air quality as an echo of the State Council’s ten measures to manage and prevent air pollution. The plan includes 66 measures, 462 missions, and 2,055 projects, as well as instructions, roadmaps, and time tables for the implementation.

In addition, the city defined an area of 2,980 square kilometers as an ecological protection zone, which took up 1/4 of the city’s total area. No construction is allowed within the ecological protection zone.

Cooperation among departments is a must.

Tianjin’s Traffic Management Bureau and Environmental Protection Bureau work together and use a remote sensing car to detect the passing vehicles’ exhausts.

“Now it takes only 0.7 seconds to detect the level of vehicle exhausts, which is 50 times faster than traditional measurements. The fine for exceeding the exhaust limit is 50-200 yuan ($8-$33),” said Guo Kangwei, the director of Tianjin’s Environmental Protection Bureau’s vehicle exhaust prevention department.

Monitoring system is of great importance.

Tianjin has turned up its pollution charge a great deal. The charge for emitting pollution, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and ammonia is nine times higher than before. The city also established a stimulation system for reducing emissions and a punishment mechanism for exceeding exhausts. In addition, the city has set up six pollution charge levels.

Use science and technology to safeguard.

Robots can help to change the batteries of electric buses in Haitai charging station. The total charging time is less than 10 minutes.

Wang Yingqiu, the vice manager of Tianjin’s electric power company, said that these past two years, the electric buses charged at Haitai have traveled 5.1 million kilometers and saved around 1,900 tons of fuel, as well as cut carbon dioxide by 4,779 tons.

Tianjin’s bus group includes 290 electric buses and 299 hybrid buses which contribute to a total route of 800,000 kilometers and carry as many as 1,600 passengers.

Thank to the complete system, close monitoring, progressive technology, and improved public involvement, Tianjin’s smog management has achieved great results.

Until the end of September, a total of 141 days had reached the air quality standard, which is 31 days more than last year. The number of days which were heavily polluted reached 15, which was a decrease of 19 days year-on-year. The density of the main pollution PM2.5 and PM10 decreased 19.1 percent and 11.2 percent year-on-year respectively.