Smoggy Beijing is unlikely to meet its target for "blue sky" days with acceptable air quality this year, the government said Tuesday, amid efforts to clean up the Chinese capital in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing met air quality targets on only 11 days in April, the lowest monthly figure on record, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the city's environmental bureau.

"It is highly unlikely that the city will hit its target of 238 `blue sky' days this year," Xinhua said.

The agency called the situation a "`blue sky' crisis." I

t said the city will need at last 22 days with good air quality per month from June to December to meet its goal.

The difficulties in meeting the target affirm Beijing's reputation as one of the world's most polluted cities, and represent a setback for an ambitious cleanup effort for the Olympics.

Two weeks ago, a senior Beijing Olympics official assured the International Olympic Committee that the city was confident in meeting the 238-day target.

For the Olympics, Beijing is converting buses to run on natural gas and relocating a highly polluting steel plant, among other measures. It is also considering contingencies such as shutting down government offices and limiting traffic to make sure the air is clean during the Games.

Du, the environmental official, blamed the rise in smog on soaring car ownership.

Beijing has more than 2.6 million motor vehicles, and Du said that number is rising by more than 1,000 per day.

"It is indeed to very tough" to meet air quality targets, he was quoted as saying.

AP