All Schools to Shut & Outdoor Construction to Cease

A woman uses a scarf to cover her face from pollutants as she walks out of an underpass tunnel on a polluted day in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015.

But while lots of people on Weibo said they were making plans to stay in to avoid the smog for the next few days, many ignored the official warnings to spend less time outside.

The measures imposed for the alert were good, he said, “but we need much more radical moves than this”.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, a city of 20 million-plus people was locked down in its first-ever pollution “red alert”.

Some are wearing a mask at all times outdoors. China’s interest in action sports is growing, and with the winning bid for the 2022 Olympics, Beijing is becoming more of an global hub for action sports events, like Air + Style.

Authorities are under fire for failing to issue a red-alert last week when Beijing was also covered by unsafe smog.

Half of Beijing’s private cars have been ordered off the streets and many construction sites and schools closed after the government raised the alert on pollution in the Chinese capital to the highest red level.

According to the BBC, Greenpeace had been campaigning since last week for the Chinese government to declare a red-alert, but the government instead issued an orange alert (the second-highest in their four-tier colour-coded system, adopted in 2013).

Chinese residents have been used to air pollution, though not at this scale.

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.

Some people in Beijing tried to dodge the restrictions. “We wanted to develop, and now we pay the price”, Beijing office worker Cao Yong said during a break from work.

Authorities in the capital were heavily criticised after only issuing an orange alert for last week’s pollution.

“And air purifiers at home are a must”, Beijing resident Sun Yuanyuan said at a downtown Beijing juice shop. Those with better air filtration systems could choose to remain open.

“I like that we can have three days off school because of the bad air, but we can’t go out and have fun because of the pollution, which is real shame”.

Chinese social media commentators also pointed to the fact that no red alert was issued when the readings touched 634 a week ago.

According to Environment Minister Chen Jining, he is urging more supervision in Beijing including its surrounding cities such as Tianjin, where the number of environmental inspection teams will be increased from the current 12.

However, even with the potential difficulties, Ma Jun believes the red alert emergency warning will greatly benefit the people of Beijing.

She added: “It took several decades to treat the smog in London and we must learn the same lessons”. A cold front is expected on Thursday, which should clear some of the pollution out. The safe level is 25 micrograms, as mandated by the World Health Organization.

According to China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, this restriction will place a heavy burden on Beijing’s public transport system, with an extra 2 million passengers expected to use buses and trains each day.

Some businesses closed and others said employees could work from home for the duration.