- [Narrator] This is China
covered in pollution last year.
But this year the skies are clear,
that's because the coronavirus epidemic
had brought much of the
country to a standstill
for several weeks causing
a huge drop in pollutants
like nitrogen dioxide,
a harmful gas that's emitted
when burning fossil fuel.
Compared to previous years
it's below typical levels.
- If you close down factories
or reducing the amount
of cars on the road you're going
to reduce the pollution levels.
And from that we can deduce
that the economic activity
has been decreased.
- [Narrator] In early
February Chinese president,
Xi Jinping publicly
declared a people's war
against the virus,
that extreme measures like
shutdowns have prevented people
from returning to work where necessary.
But he also cautioned that those efforts
should not jeopardize
economic development.
Now a dramatic change in pollution
over the country suggests
that striking that balance
could be difficult.
In the past few decades China has grown
to become the world's
largest coal consumer.
Its large manufacturing-based
economy burns 95%
of the country's coal,
making it the world's biggest
emitter of greenhouse gasses.
Usually during the Lunar New
Year most industries wind down
for a week and power plants
burn a lot less coal.
Coal consumption usually rebounds
after the week-long break
which means pollution levels pick up too.
- Because the levels of nitrogen dioxide
in China are so high we can
easily detect that from space.
- [Narrator] This is what Wuhan,
the epicenter of the
coronavirus usually looks like
after the holiday.
The city is a key producer of automobiles,
electronics and heavy machinery.
But this year the demand
for coal hasn't immediately
rebounded since many workers
have been stranded at home
in locked down cities,
and nitrogen dioxide levels have dipped.
It's not just Wuhan,
it's the same when you look
at other industrial powerhouses in China.
This is what Shandong and
Hebei usually look like
after the holiday.
They're know for churning out everything
from textiles and metals
to petrochemicals.
But this year they also weren't spared
from the impact of the epidemic.
While skies were clear
in many parts of China,
some cities like Beijing
are still shrouded in smog.
The city has recorded high
levels of air pollutants.
These fine particles are created
during the chemical
reaction of gasses generated
from burning fuel.
Heating systems in Beijing's geography
can affect this reading.
But there's one huge source of pollution
that can't be missed,
major steel makers around the
capital don't stop production
during the holiday because
going offline is costlier
than running all year round.
So during the city shutdown
some factories continue
to produce steel.
Li Hongmei is an analyst
who tracks the Chinese metal industry.
- Because of the outbreak
all the normal pattern
has been broken so the
construction sites are still
in the process of resuming work,
that's why their steel
consumption slow down and delayed.
- [Narrator] Steel inventories
are now at record high levels
because buyers in the
construction industry
are demanding less right now.
Home sales were already
cooling before the virus,
now they're below last year levels.
- Whenever you're not so sure
about your national economy
you're not so sure
about your job security,
about your income.
People definitely will
be reducing expenditure
in a investment.
- [Narrator] In recent days
Xi has been touting efforts
to meet economic targets
while containing the virus,
like heavy stimulus to
support banks and tax cuts
for small businesses.
But analysts say it's not
clear whether these measures
can help make up for lost ground.
Some factories are slowly
resuming production.
- So pollution levels that
we're observing from space
are beginning to increase
which may indicate
that economic activity could be resuming.
- [Narrator] Beijing recently
put out the first full month
of economic data after
the virus hit China.
The index tracks business
sentiment among manufacturing
and service sectors and it falls
below the lowest level recorded
during the global financial crisis.
An increase in the number
of infections overseas
could also put China's
economy at greater risk,
complicating efforts to
meet Xi's economic goals
for this year.
For now, one of the
most visible indicators
to see how it all plays out might be just
to look up at the skies.
(relaxing music)
