Air pollution in Beijing hits hazardous levels

High humidity, strong thermal inversion and low wind speed are among the disadvantageous meteorological conditions preventing pollutants’ dispersion, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau explained on Sunday.

Travelers – especially those with sensitive respiratory systems – take heed, air pollution levels in China’s capital of Beijing and surrounding regions have reached hazardous levels, the Associated Press reported.

The reading for the PM2.5, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, hit 274 micrograms per cubic meter today in most parts of the capital.

As a result of the alert, the authorities ordered kindergartens and primary schools to stop all outdoor excises, and recommended that the elderly and the sick stay indoors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 25 micrograms is considered to be a safe level, RT pointed out. The Beijing municipal government raised the alert level after thick smog clouds settled over the city, which are not expected to blow over until Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The choking pollution was caused by “unfavourable” weather, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. On Saturday, the level of PM2.5 particles increased to over 300 micrograms per cubic meter.

For the time being, highways have been closed, construction suspended, and school activities canceled.

Such outbreaks are common across China, where Greenpeace recently found almost 80 percent of cities to have had pollution levels that “greatly exceeded” national standards in the first nine months of this year.

President Xi Jinping has traveled to Paris for United Nations-sponsored talks with more than 140 world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama aimed at cutting emissions.

Authorities blame coal burning for winter heating as a major culprit for the air pollution.

The ministry said the number of cities affected by heavy pollution had reached 23, stretching across 530,000 square km, an area the size of Spain, but a cold front beginning on 2 December would see the situation improve.