Where does it come from?

TanSat will allow China finding the polluters in China, a major problem as many in the industry disobey the environmental laws. See earlier post.
China is to clamp down further on the industrial polluters, especially the smaller companies, as announced on 7 January.
See:
“Small factories face anti-smog scrutiny” China Daily 7 January 2017
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-01/07/content_27886485.htm

In 2015, industrial use of coal accounted for about 46% of the total coal consumption, but these furnaces did not have stringent environmental standards that matched those of the thermal power industry.
Right now the biggest challenge for the government is enforcement. They even started to use drones to inspect the polluters from a safe distance. Going there they get beaten up – or killed.
It has become a war…
See more about the interesting drones story here:
29 May 2015 – Caixin Online
China Uses Drones to Monitor Pollution Problem from Above
http://english.caixin.com/2015-05-29/100814593.html
Central and local officials flying remote control drones to identify sources of pollution and gather information about air quality.

I quote a part:

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has also had drones fly over steel mills, refineries and power plants to gather information about possible emission violations. On May 18, 2015, the ministry published information on its website regarding penalties imposed on several major industrial companies in Hebei Province, in the north, that drones caught committing emissions violations. China has spent billions of yuan in recent decades to develop a national pollution monitoring system, but its effects have been limited because polluters always seem to be able to find ways to hide.

Burning the fields

A Dutch friend took these pictures on the Highway S10 between Shenyang (Liaoning) and Tonghua (Jilin).

See all the burning fields. It is illegal but farmers still do it unpunished, a major contribution to air pollution in the region.

The new pollution police

Officials in Beijing are taking steps toward tackling the city’s long-standing smog problem with the creation of an environmental police force, according to state media. Spearheaded by Beijing’s acting mayor Mayor Cai Qi, the political crackdown on burning fossil fuels comes amid a flurry of concern over the country’s choking air pollution.
See here: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/08/asia/china-smog/