The air quality index in many cities, including Beijing and Langfang and Bao-ding in Hebei province, reached the top reading of 500 on Monday, meaning air pollution had reached the most severe level, according to the cities’ environmental monitoring stations. The heavy smog erased the capital’s skylines with a monotonous grey & left buildings only a block or two away hardly discernable.
Advertisement
Outside a packed children’s hospital in downtown Beijing, parents and grandparents complained about the smog’s impact on small children.
People living in Beijing woke up to another day of hazy skies November 30, as thick smog continued to blanket the city on the same day world leaders met in Paris to discuss climate change.
China’s cities, following decades of economic growth and a widespread surge in vehicle ownership, rate among the world’s dirtiest urban areas.
JASON LEE/REUTERS A woman wearing a protective mask walks along an alleyway as smog covers China’s capital Beijing Monday.
Authorities in Beijing have issued an “orange” pollution alert, the second highest of four levels, wherein outdoor activities in schools and construction work is suspended and residents warned to stay indoors, agencies reported.
The pollution also closed motorways around the Chinese capital and caused scores of flights to be cancelled.
Those same authorities issued an orange air quality alert on Sunday, which has seen factories shut down production in an attempt to reduce emissions.
Beijing vowed to clean up its toxic air past year, after sales of air purifiers across the country skyrocketed, as citizens attempted to protect themselves increasing levels of pollution. Experts say the concentration of PM 2.5 may further increase to 600 micrograms per cubic metre.
An unfortunate combination of weather conditions has also helped trap pollutants, according to meteorologists – cold air closer to the ground resulting from thawing snow reduced the mobility of airborne pollutants, officials said.
Liu Juntang, a businessman whose company develops environmental technology, said face masks could not give protection from the tiny pollutants on days of extremely heavy pollution.
Forecasters expected winds to clear the smog by Wednesday.
After once being classified as China’s most polluted city, Baoding launched a “low-carbon” program to control emissions from factories and develop clean energy.
Advertisement
Earlier this month, air pollution reached nearly 50 times above the recommended levels in Shenyang, in the country’s north-east.
