Smog Red Alert Issued by Beijing, Schools Closed

Some polluting enterprises, including a stone processing factory and several clothing workshops, continued to operate on Tuesday after a red alert, the highest level, was issued in the morning. Some residents grumbled about the inconvenience, and a few global schools sought permission to reopen Wednesday.

Under the alert – the highest in a four-tiered, colour-coded warning system – an odd-even number plate system bans half the city’s roughly 4.4 million private vehicles from the streets on alternate days. “I feel like I’m engaged in chemical warfare”, one commuter said on social media.

Smog in Beijing, Tianjin and cities in neighboring Hebei Province contain PM2.5 particles linked to lung cancer, said Professor Pan Xiaochuan from Peking University’s School of Public Health, and dust and sulfur dioxide led to the smoke in London causing death due to respiratory failure. With only half the city’s cars taking to the streets, getting anywhere in Beijing right now must be a nightmare.

“It’s fair to say to solve environmental issue and work to address climate change is connected, as our President Xi pointed out, to address climate change and protect the environment is not something imposed by outsiders but is something we need to do ourselves”, Xie added. By Monday, Beijing listed its air quality index at 253, or above the 200 that the US government defines as “very unhealthy”.

While the capital’s air improved in the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period last year, it has suffered two recent prolonged bouts of severe smog, which is typically worse in the winter and which last time sent PM 2.5 level as high as 976 in some locations. The index is closely linked to levels of PM2.5, although it also includes other pollutants.

“If these traffic restrictions can really solve the smog problem and make the air in Beijing clean, I’m willing to face such limits on a daily basis”, said Ma Qiansen, 25, who works for an advertising company and was commuting by subway Tuesday because he was not permitted to drive.

The move marks the first time the city government has issued a “red alert” warning, which indicates pollution has hit hazardous levels.

“I think it’s wrong to simply think we have to get used to living with bad air quality and not demand that more is done to solve the problem”.

The decision to issue the red alert despite relatively low pollution numbers also provoked ridicule.

The polluted air shrouding China has had severe impact on the health of people.

“People everywhere are looking forward to China’s continuous progress on the road to green development, acting as a model for the world to tackle the challenge of climate change”. Recent satellite images of the country show large hazy clouds covering portions of northeastern China that are so thick they can be seen from space.