In this December 8, 2015 photo, a woman wears a mask to protect herself from pollutants on a heavily pol …
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But this time, it prompted the government to issue a “red alert”, shutting down schools, construction sites, and keeping half of the city’s vehicles off the roads.
It was the first time authorities declared a “red alert” since emergency air pollution plans were introduced two years ago, although levels were far from the city’s worst.
BEIJING (AP) Beijing issued a red alert this week for smog, triggering restrictions on traffic, school closures and factory suspensions. Technically, a red alert means three consecutive days of severe smog, but the distinction doesn’t wash with Beijing’s residents. It is expected to disperse Thursday afternoon as a cold front arrives.
Delhi’s air too remained in the second worst category “very poor” in the Indian system with a heavy smog enveloping the city all day and visibility dropping sharply after dark.
That alert level is the highest possible under China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection air quality measurement scheme.
The World Health Organisation recommended safe maximum is 25.
The red alert caused disruption for some parents, who had to scramble Monday evening to find alternative childcare arrangements.
Beijing’s red alerts for smog are as much about duration as they are about severity of pollution forecasts. With only half the city’s cars taking to the streets, getting anywhere in Beijing right now must be a nightmare.
“This measure reflects that the government, at least, has the courage to face this problem”, said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Chinese environmental NGO, referring to the red alert. The air quality in Beijing in every winter suffers as the city operates dozens of massive coal fired heaters to keep millions of homes warm, but add to the industrial, vehicular pollution besides burning of agricultural waste in the outskirts. For example, one monitoring site in Beijing that gave an index reading of 308 midday Tuesday also had a PM2.5 level of 258 micrograms per cubic meter.
Six people have died and another four have been injured in a 33-vehicle pileup in heavy smog on a highway in north China’s Shanxi Province on Tuesday morning.
China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, aims to have its emissions peak by 2030.
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China has reduced emissions and invested in renewable energies such as solar power or wind, but the country still depends on coal for more than 60 per cent of its power.
