40 Chinese cities hit by worst smog of the year

BEIJING: Reeling under the worst smog of the year Chinas pollution problems continue to be compounded as 40 cities including Beijing are under red alert with schools canceling classes and factories cutting their production

Updated At : 06:58 AM Dec 23, 2015 IST

A man wears a mask on a heavily polluted day in Beijing on Tuesday. AFP

Beijing, December 22

Reeling under the worst smog of the year, China’s pollution problems continue to be compounded as 40 cities including Beijing are under red alert with schools canceling classes and factories cutting their production.

Beijing, together with the cities of Baoding, Handan, Langfang and Xingtai in the neighbouring Hebei Province, have issued red alerts, the most serious level of pollution.

The capital, a city of over 22 million people, is struggling with PM 2.5, the smallest and deadliest form of airborne particulate matter that almost touched 500, the highest category in the US Embassy pollution monitor which is regarded “hazardous”, as it is several times higher than the levels prescribed by WHO.

Beijing was hit with severe air pollution today, with pollution levels expecting to reach grade six on a six-grade pollution gauging system in the southern part of the city later in the day, Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BMEMC).

“Affected by increased humidity and temperature inversion, the density of PM 2.5 may exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter on Tuesday,” Li Yunting, an environmental expert said.

The pollution level is expected to decrease to grade four, still hazardous for health, tomorrow, and the smog is expected to disperse on Thursday as a cold front arrives, BMEMC said. — AFP