Beijing lifts code red smog alert as skies clear

On Thursday, the air quality had improved to a moderate level from previously hazardous levels, according to the U.S. Embassy’s air quality index.

“I stay outdoors most of the time, so I am very anxious that I may have cancer if I continue to live in this kind of air for long time”, said Zhang, 25.

Beijing imposed its first red-alert the highest on a four-color scale that has been in use for two years following a forecast of high pollution for three consecutive days. “We cannot leave the house, we cannot do anything, we can only stay at home, study at home, do everything at home”, said Zhao, whose mother, an architect, has been working from the family’s apartment in an affluent neighborhood in central Beijing.

The index is strongly linked to levels of the unsafe smallest detectable PM2.5 particles, which at midday ranged from between 200 to 250 micrograms per cubic metre in the city centre – or eight to 10 times the World Health Organisation’s maximum safe level.

The China Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, also conducted real-time analysis on sources of air pollutants for the first time. Under the red alert, vehicles are allowed on the roads on alternate days based on odd and even license plate numbers.

Beijing residents watch a giant video screen outside a shopping mall on a polluted day, on December 9, 2015 Pollution red alerts spread to more Chinese cities, state media reported on December 9, as Beijing entered its third day of heavy smog, with officials warning poor conditions could last until Saturday in some places.

Of course, the issuing of a “Red Alert” is nothing more than a band-aid for Beijing’s pollution levels.

The ancient Forbidden City palace complex and other Beijing landmarks were lost in a gray, soupy haze on Wednesday.

That indicated that the traffic restrictions were effective but more work needs to be done to reduce emissions from coal burning, said Chai.

IBM Research will also assist the city of Johannesburg and South Africa’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in modeling air pollution trends and quantifying the effectiveness of the city’s actions to tackle the issue, according to the statement.