The city of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, decided to conduct a satellite test from Oct 10 to Nov 20 to monitor any straw-burning cases within its territory on Oct 8.

After the National Day holiday, Beijing was shrouded in dense haze. Northeast China’s provinces, such as Liaoning, felt pollution in the air as the wide-spread smog sprawled to nearly all the regions in North China.

Harbin has followed the steps of Beijing to ban straw burning since the beginning of this year.

As there is a tradition in rural areas to burn straw after autumn harvest and bury the ashes in the ground as fertilizer, the local government launched a campaign to stop straw burning and promote projects to help farmers find straw-consuming enterprises from Oct 10 to Nov 20.

Residents are encouraged to report straw-burning cases through the 12369 hotline.