China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has deployed a fleet of 11 aerial drones in a new and high tech campaign to curb China's intractable air pollution problem.

The drone fleet is hovering over cities in Hebei and Shanxi provinces, two of the most polluted provinces in China suffering from intense smog and air pollution caused by coal mining. It also surveyed cities in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which is plagued by pollution from mining operations.

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The ministry reported that the drones in June detected illegal nighttime emissions from over 250 factories using thermal imaging and infrared detection devices. It said the unmanned aerial vehicles flew over 2,000 square kilometers in about a day.

Data from the drones revealed 64 Chinese companies violating environmental laws. The ministry said major violations included air pollution exceeding safe atmospheric levels and unregulated smoke emissions, among others. The ministry will next conduct on-the-spot investigations of the polluting sites.

Last March, China also used drones to spray chemicals to disperse smog in a test that seems to have had some success. State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China tested aerial drones called "Parafoil planes" in Hubei province.

A Parafoil plane attached to a gliding parachute can carry 700 kilograms of smog-clearing chemicals that will be sprayed inside a radius of five kilometers. 

The experience gained by China in flying civilian drones is also expected to have military applications. China is currently spending billions of dollars to modernize its fleet of military aerial drones and is spending heavily to build stealth drones armed with missiles.

China is the world's largest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are fueling climate change. Its air pollution is considered one of the world's worst.

China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Program will see it close down heavily polluting steel, cement and coal operations by the end of this year.

Tagschinese drones, battle, Pollution