"We have been preparing for the new laboratory since July," said Yan Yonglu, chief engineer of the province's environmental monitoring center. "Now the preliminary plan has been finished and already passed the first round of expert appraisal."

The lab will probably work at the first stage in 2015, and more monitoring stations of the lab will be set up near Beijing and Tianjin to serve all three areas.

Until now, there are 64 auto monitoring air quality sites working in surrounding areas of Beijing and Shijiazhuang, said Yin Guangping, deputy director of the province's environmental protection authority.

The monitoring results showed the province can give 100 percent accurate early warning of smog in 24 hours before it appears, and the accuracy falls to 70 percent for smog that would appear in 72 hours, Yin said.

The application of remote sensing technology will provide a stronger hand when it comes to joint regional monitoring, Yin said.

Although the final working plan for the province has not been released, Guo has suggested a possible plan.

The lab will need help from experts at top universities, institutes and private companies in the province, Guo said. The construction period will be around three years, and the research will extend for eight to 10 years.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn

Top10citieswithworstsmog	Beijing initiates integration with Tianjin and Hebei