Surviving Beijing’s first ever red alert for air pollution

Beijing officials on Monday declared a red alert, which is the highest level of alarm for air pollution response in the Chinese capital.

Certain weather conditions can exacerbate the problem.

It had previously dispatched 10 inspection teams to regions known for heavy pollution, mainly around Beijing, to ensure emergency plans were in place.

Five days of steadily worsening pollution cut visibility within some parts of Beijing to 300 feet or less and delayed many flights into the city’s main airport, prompting Beijing’s Office of Emergency Management to issue the red alert.

“This measure reflects that the government, at least, has the courage to face this problem”, said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Chinese environmental group, referring to the red alert.

The red alert has been imposed until Thursday. However, some people also agree with the authorities and say they are finally facing the air pollution issues and canceling companies and schools.

Six people have died and another four have been injured in the 33-vehicle pileup in China.

And in the early morning hours, hundreds of people, including small children, had packed Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony, according to photos by state news agency Xinhua.

What is even more alarming, though, is that a week ago – when the PM2.5 readings were an astonishing three times higher than that, the air was yellow and I could hardly see across the freeway outside my window – the authorities did not declare a red alert.

Some people in Beijing tried to dodge the restrictions.

By late afternoon, the US embassy’s monitoring station recorded “hazardous” air quality.

Auto use is being halved by allowing only odd or even numbered license plates on the road at one time and heavy vehicles including garbage trucks are banned from the streets.

The rise in smog levels comes just a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris where he urged nations across the world to unite to reduce carbon emissions.