IOC president clears air on safe Olympics

By Stephen Wilson  |   2008-8-8  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA has done everything "humanly possible" to combat air pollution, and conditions will be fine for athletes to compete at the Beijing Games, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said yesterday.

"The statistics are very clear," Rogge said a day before the opening of the Games. "Pollution levels are coming down. It is not yet perfect. It is safe for the athletes."

Beijing's smog has been a major concern in the build-up to the Games, prompting authorities to pull half the city's 3.3 million vehicles off the road, halt major construction and close some factories.

"I think, objectively, we can say the Chinese authorities have done everything that is feasible and humanly possible to solve or to address the situation," Rogge said at a news conference at the close of a three-day IOC general assembly. "What they have done is extraordinary."

He said the anti-pollution measures would pay off for China in the long run, not just for the Olympics.

"These are not short-term, one-shot measures," he said. "These are going to continue and to have a lasting influence on the climate of Beijing."

The IOC chief spoke as a light gray haze hung over the city.

"The fog you see is based on the basis of humidity and heat," Rogge said. "It does not mean to say that this fog is the same as pollution. It can be pollution, but the fog doesn't mean necessarily that it is pollution. Of course, we prefer clean skies but the most important thing is the health of the athletes being protected."

Rogge reiterated that outdoor endurance events, such as the marathon, could be postponed or rescheduled if smog levels were too high.

The IOC will monitor air quality hourly at 21 reporting stations and receive 72-hour weather forecasts. High temperatures and humidity could also be factors during the Games.