The concentration of PM2.5, the fine particulates that pose hazards to human health, reached 1,155 micrograms per cubic metre.
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China is registering record levels of air pollution as an early onset of winter has led the authorities to turn on central heating, which is generally powered by coal. The city government upgraded its emergency response level to the highest tier on Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, 20 cities were shrouded in heavy pollution.
Data from the Shenyang Environmental Protection Agency showed the density of the poisonous tiny airborne particulates known as PM2.5 topped 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter at their maximum levels.
That’s almost 50 times more than the World Health Organization’s standard safe level of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
According to the Liaoning provincial environmental protection bureau, a total of 14 cities in Liaoning hit AQI levels of over 300, which is considered hazardous.
It affected 10 cities on Friday, 18 on Saturday and 21 on Sunday, Luo Yi, head of the Environmental Monitoring Department under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said on Monday.
Such an action translates into telling schools to stop organizing outdoor activities, and reminding residents to “take green transit”, stay indoors and “take health precautions”.
Chronic pollution problem has been linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths on the mainland, and has become a major source of popular discontent with the government.
The northern China residents burn coal to heat up their homes.
The readings appear to be among the highest ever publicly recorded in China.
Xia Qing, former president of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, said the emergency response protocols were not legally binding so they had only limited effect.
In six cities, including the capital Shenyang, the air quality index on Sunday went beyond 500 – the gauge’s maximum – while eight of 14 cities in the province were labeled as “seriously polluted” yesterday.
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The official news agency Xinhua quoted a hospital official in Shenyang, capital of the neighbouring province of Liaoning, saying that his respiratory ward was overwhelmed, with all its beds full.
