A thick smog envelopes Beijing and other large parts of China, Saturday, November 28. Dubbed as the worst winter smog to date, the government advised local residents to stay indoors until the situation gets better. The smog was present since Friday, causing lower visibility to a few hundred miles.
At noon, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reported the level of the poisonous, tiny articles of PM2.5 at 391 micrograms per cubic meter. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the safe level at 25 micrograms per cubic meter of the particulates. The pollution levels in the country reached nearly 20 times the safety limit set by the organization.
The particles pose serious health hazards because they can embed deep in the lungs.
"It looks like a nuclear winter out there," said a 35-year-old resident of Beijing. "I plan to stay in one room all weekend catching up on reading, with two air purifiers on at full blast."
China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has earlier forecasted that the smog would maintain its severe condition in the greater Beijing region, the western part of Shandong province and the northern part of Henan province until Tuesday, when strong winds from the north are expected to blow away air pollutants.
As winter approaches, coal burning is common in the affected areas. The government blames the activity for the continuous worsening of the air pollution in their country. Environmental departments and ministries were ordered to look into possible illegal and unregistered companies and factories that could be the culprit for the additional emissions released in several northern Chinese cities.
In the past, authorities have shut down numerous factories and reduced half of the vehicles used on the roads to reduce pollution. But, the problem lies with the disruptive and non-sustaining efforts of the government, implemented only when they feel the need to do so.
