Comment on "Delta authorities pledge to battle smog together" (China Daily, Jan 9)

Air pollution has spread to all over China. Nobody can keep out of it. Those people who used to mock the so-called Beijing cough now find that smog surrounds them and they also have to resort to masks, as they once saw only in the media. Just like the professor in the article said, scientific studies have demonstrated that pollutants generated in one area can be delivered to other areas in the same region, and regional authorities won't succeed in fighting pollution by making individual efforts alone.

Air pollution is a problem that is related to everyone and needs everyone's efforts. It's a good signal to see that provinces have decided to work together to fight against this serious environment problem that endangers people's health.

It is important if we are to deal with the worsening air quality that different government departments should make joint efforts. The key to managing air pollution is to strictly control the emissions of pollutant gases, which involves social sectors such as industry, energy, and transportation.

Comprehensive management in different social sectors is crucial in order to curb air pollution, which means various government departments should shoulder their responsibilities of management and supervision. It's high time local authorities took action for the sake of people and our community.

Ye Xin, via e-mail

Readers' comments are welcome. Please send your e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected] or to the individual columnists. China Daily reserves the right to edit all letters. Thank you.