Beijing Pollution Hits An All Time High

Residents In Beijing Warned To Stay Indoors As Air Quality Hits 'Worst On Record' After City Is Engulfed By Thick Smog -- Daily Mail

* Pollution in the city rises to 30 to 45 times above recommended safety levels
* Experts warn the conditions could last another two days
* Residents warned to stay indoors as pollution is trapped by low pressure

Air quality in Beijing was the 'worst on record' over the weekend, according to environmentalists, as pollution in the city rose to 30 to 45 times above recommended safety levels.

The Chinese capital, home to around 20 million people, has been wrapped in thick smog since Friday, reducing visibility and disrupting traffic.

The city's pollution monitoring centre has warned residents to stay indoors as pollution levels rose to the worst on record, according to Greenpeace.

Read more ....

Update #1: Beijing cancels outdoor activities, warns of hazardous air due to off-the-charts pollution -- Washington Post/AP
Update #2: Beijing Pollution Hits Highs -- Wall Street Journal
Update #3: On Scale of 0 to 500, Beijing’s Air Quality Tops ‘Crazy Bad’ at 755 -- New York Times

My Comment: I first visited China in the mid 1980s .... and while I saw massive deforestation in many areas, the air quality was still OK. One of the best moments in my life was visiting a plantation in Fujian province that is responsible for growing Oolong tea. I was walking on the side of the hill and got caught in a warm monsoon rainfall. The warm rainwater, the air filled with the smell of tea, the freshness of the air .... it is an experience that describing it will not do it justice .... you have to experience it to appreciate it. But today .... if I go there ... and I get in a warm monsoon rainfall .... my primary worry will be acid rain and the need to quickly change my clothes.

Pollution is China's number one problem. The government knows it .... the citizens know it .... hell .... everyone knows it. But .... they also knew that it was a growing problem when I first visited China over 25 years ago.