BEIJING (Reuters) - More than 500 illegal outdoor barbecues, which Chinese state media say cause "serious air pollution", have been destroyed in Beijing as part of an emergency program to alleviate the city's often hazardous pollution. 
 
 The raids were part of a three-month operation to supervise the barbecues, many of which are operated by ethnic Uighur Muslims from the restive Xinjiang province in China's west. 
 
 "Over 500 illegal barbecue grills in Beijing were destroyed on Tuesday amid the city's efforts to fight air pollution and lingering foggy weather," state media Xinhua reported on Tuesday. 
 
 Pollution often reaches hazardous levels and can cause long-term health issues. Chinese health officials say that lung cancer rates are rising among the city's more than 20 million residents. 
 
 China has adopted an emergency response program to try to reduce the pollution, including alternating days for cars with odd and even license plates to be on the road and closing schools when the smog is particularly heavy. 
 
 Smoke from factories and heating plants that encircle Beijing, winds blowing in from the Gobi Desert and fumes from millions of vehicles all contribute to the smog that often forms a thick blanket over the city. 
 
 Last winter the capital's smog was so bad it was dubbed the "airpocalypse", and there are concerns this winter will see a repeat after huge swathes of northeastern China ground to a halt in October when they were smothered by pollution. 
 
 (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Alison Williams) ||||| Beijing is waging a war against air pollution and it is doing so one barbecue at a time. 
 
 Authorities in the capital have destroyed more than 500 open-air barbecues "to cut PM2.5" _ the tiny particulate matter in the air that can enter deep into the lungs. 
 
 Photos carried by state media showed workers on Tuesday cutting pieces of metal with sparks flying as city wardens looked on. 
 
 Citizens online ridiculed the exercise, suggesting authorities should focus on bigger sources of pollution. 
 
 A media officer at Beijing's Xicheng district administration bureau said the hundreds of barbecue grills were confiscated over a three-month campaign and cut up so they couldn't be used again. She refused to give her name, as is common with Chinese officials. 
 
 Beijing's pollution regularly reaches hazardous levels. The city government announced last month that emergency measures such as factory shutdowns and traffic limits would kick in when air pollution levels are particularly heavy.
– Grilled lamb has become a scapegoat for Beijing's notorious air pollution, Reuters finds. Authorities say they have destroyed more than 500 open-air barbecues, which they claim seriously affects the city's air quality. State media showed photos of workers cutting apart the grills, many of which are operated by migrants from Xinjiang. The barbecue blitz was ridiculed online, with citizens suggesting that authorities do something about the factories and millions of vehicles creating pollution instead, the AP notes. Earlier this year, the pollution index in the city soared to 755—on a scale of 500.