China Is Siccing a Record-Setting Supercomputer on Its Smog Problem

For the last week, swaths of northern China have been blanketed in exceptionally filthy clouds of smog, landing the question of how to clean up China's toxic air back in headlines. For climate scientists, finding a solution means examining pollution weather data in excruciating detail, and to pull it off they plan to use one of the world's fastest supercomputers.

The machine in question is China's Tianhe-1A, which was the fastest in the world for six months in 2011. According to a Xinhua News Agency report, researchers and computer scientists plan to use its massive computing power to create a simulation to study the atmospheric, physical, chemical, and biological factors behind air pollution.

Scientists will populate the computer model with data from the 668 air quality monitors spread across 114 smog-prone cities in China. These monitors collect real-time information on sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide levels, and particles in the air less than PM 2.5 (2.5 microns in diameter), and issue warnings if pollution levels reach the point where it's dangerous to go outside. For some perspective, pollution levels in Shanghai last week were more than double the limit for "severe," the highest ranking the system has.

But some scientists believe the current methods for monitoring smog aren't cutting it, and the team believes the supercomputer can be used to forecast pollution weather more accurately and further in advance. They want to be able to predict details like how thick the shroud of smog will be, how long it will last, what regions it will hit and when, and most importantly, what are the factors behind a severely smoggy day.

The project is a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, the National Meteorological Center, Tsinghua University and the National Supercomputer Center and the goal is to have it in operation in two to five years.

Theoretically, more accurate forecasts could make life a bit easier for Chinese city-dwellers that live in a cloud of smog day after day, and lead to better warning systems to keep people safe. But scientists also want to use the data to pinpoint the specific sources of the air pollution around the country. How much is coming from burning coal, versus fuel from cars? What percentage is being generated locally, and what's drifting in from outside areas?

Answers to those kinds of questions could help experts determine specifically where to cut emissions and by how much, suggested Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Wang Zifa in an interview with Xinhua in October. He referenced plans for a "domestically-designed simulation system" to map that high level of detail.

The supercomputer smog simulator is just the latest attempt to relieve the relentless haze, and one more valuable than a previous proposal to use a copper-coil vacuum to suck up Beijing's pollution. On a more serious note, the Chinese government recently launched a five year, 1.7 trillion yuan ($277 billion) plan to invest in clean energy.

And yet, while this latest cloud of debilitating polluted air has all but brought Shanghai to a halt, it hasn't stopped the government's spin machine. Chinese state media recently published reports on the benefits of smog, which according to the state unifies China, makes people funnier and more knowledgeable, and helps the military.