LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES and other parties concerned will be held accountable for poor performance in curbing air pollution, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Friday. Beijing News commented on Sunday:

The sternly worded announcement by the country's top environmental authority came just one day after senior officials in Linfen, North China's Shanxi province, were summoned to explain their failure to control the sulfur dioxide emissions that have plagued the city for weeks. Several new projects in the city were suspended as a result of their incompetence.

Linfen has fallen prey to alarmingly high concentrations of sulfur dioxide; exceeding 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter four times since Jan 4. The national standard is 60 micrograms per cubic meter. The local government did not issue alerts for severe air pollution, nor did it take effective measures to reduce the pollution or rein in the use of coal-fueled boilers and plants as required.