Beijing’s red alerts for smog are as much about duration as they are about severity of pollution forecasts.
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According to the World Health Organization, recommended maximum exposure is 25. The capital city announced a red alert for Wednesday and Thursday as well and has introduced a series of temporary measures for the following two days to lessen the amount of pollutants in the air, including car-use control. They needed to travel relatively far, however, because nearly all of China’s northeast was affected, and many cities – including nearby Shijiazhuang – were even worse than Beijing.
“Can we apply to work at home?” Before, there were only a few cars on the road but now, look, there are more and more. This is the second time this month when Beijing has witnessed long bout of smog, propelling the PM2.5 levels to a dangerously high of 976 micrograms, says CBC News.
The Beijing government warned the public about the red alert and restrictions late Monday while also posting a picture of the 2008 Summer Olympics Stadium covered in thick smog.
High-polluting factories and construction sites will also have to cease operations, Beijing’s Environmental Protection Bureau said on its verified social media account, with fireworks and barbecues also banned.
The alert- the most serious warning on a four-tier system adopted in 2013 – means authorities have forecast more than three consecutive days of severe smog.
A grey haze hung over the city of around 21.5 million people, with levels of PM2.5 – harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs – reaching 350 micrograms per cubic metre according to the United States of America embassy, which issues independent readings. The alert requires a forecast of more than 72 straight hours with PM2.5 levels of 200 micrograms per cubic meter or more. A study led by atmospheric chemist Jos Lelieveld, of Germany’s Max Planck Institute, published this year in Nature magazine, estimated that 1.4 million people each year die prematurely because of pollution in China.
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The rise in smog levels comes just a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris where he urged nations across the world to unite to reduce carbon emissions. The Chinese government has vowed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And to top it all off, China is still very much relying on coal-generated electric power and heating.
