Campaign group Greenpeace criticised authorities in Beijing for issuing only their second highest alert, behind “red” which would have forced cars of the road.
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Communist leaders have tightened emissions standards and are investing in solar, wind and other renewable energy.
Liu Xin, who is from Chongqing and went to Beijing for business on Saturday, canceled going out for dinner with friends due to the severe smog, saying she would rather be safe and stay indoors.
More than 2,000 factories in polluting industries have been ordered to suspend work, and schools have been ordered to halt all outdoor activities. Apparently, the Chinese government is attempting to reduce pollution, but the country’s heavy reliance on coal has resulted in China becoming the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases. Beijing has vowed to clean up its air and had been doing fairly well prior to this pollution event, with air generally cleaner than it was in 2014. For most of that month, persistent smog shrouded the capital.
Air quality worsened on Friday and deteriorated throughout the weekend.
A Chinese government report released shortly before the summit raised concern at rising sea levels caused by climate change, which could threaten the country’s developed east coast.
Students at middle and primary schools were given the option to study from home, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Tuesday, quoting the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education.
Another Beijing resident 30-year-old Yang Wenpei said he was closely watching the pollution index.
The photo shows the new site of the building of China Central Television under the weather condition of heavy smog.
One said living in Beijing was like working as crew on a zombie apocalypse movie.
Outside Beijing, readings for PM2.5 were was as high as 976 micrograms in the suburban region of Liulihe.
Layers of thick haze reduced visibility across the city of 20 million residents to merely several hundred meters (yards) and left a bitter odor, forcing people to resort to wearing face masks outdoors.
The pollution is expected to clear on Wednesday when a cold front approaches Beijing.
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Inspection teams sent by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to oversee implementation reported on Monday that at least 11 construction sites and cement-making plants continued operations.
