Olympian struggle against pollution

Despite a persistent gray haze, Chinese officials said an exercise that removed more than 1 million private vehicles a day from Beijing’s congested streets was a success that could mean clearer skies during next summer’s Olympics.

Humidity and wind conditions kept the pollution from dispersing, but the air during the four-day drill would have been much worse without the restrictions, said Du Shaozhong, deputy director of Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau.

Government statistics showed that the air quality during the test period rated among the 10 worst days of the month so far. The traffic ban, based on odd and even license plates, removed 1.3 million private vehicles from the streets each day.