Kevin Frayer/Getty Images A Chinese couple wear masks as they kiss during a day of high pollution in Tiananmen Square Tuesday.
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“Pray for Beijing” had become a meme on China’s mobile messaging platform WeChat.
A sense of humor is helping Beijingers cope with the smog.
Yesterday, more than 200 expressways were closed and residents were advised to stay indoors as China grappled with the worst smog of the year.
The smog worsened in north China yesterday and the meteorological centre upgraded its alert from yellow to orange, the second most serious level.
In addition, the PM2.5 found in the air has reached 945 micrograms per cubic meter in southern Beijing, posing a risky threat to the health of residents. Under the designation, factories must reduce production and heavy vehicles are banned from the city, although enforcement of such measures is thought to be uneven.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Sunday that the recent period of smog was due to “unfavorable” weather.
As part of the Paris talks, China has promised to cut emissions at least 60 percent per unit of GDP compared with levels during 2005. President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with President Barack Obama on Monday morning. It also has promised that its carbon dioxide emissions will reach a peak by 2020. Meanwhile, local environmental watchdogs noted that the ongoing smog was the severest pollution seen so far this year in the capital city. “But I think that they’re hoping that this climate agreement will bring them cleaner air and better environmental conditions across China”.
Imagine waking up every morning to a cloud of smog outside your window – pollution so heavy that each day, you wake up and smell the soot in the air.
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Xi is one of roughly 150 world leaders who’ve gathered in Paris to try to strike a global deal to start seriously addressing the climate crisis, the main source of which is the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.
