Serious Air Pollution Reported In Beijing As Smog Level Rises To Nearly 400 Micrograms Per Cubic Meter
On Saturday, the air pollution in Beijing reportedly hit hazardous levels as smog enveloped a big portion of the country amid the nation's efforts to filter the unsafe air, reported Korea Herald Nov. 28.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing announced PM 2.5 levels at 391 micrograms per cubic meter were suspended in the air on Saturday afternoon, a dangerous level from the World Health Organization's 25 micrograms per cubic meter safe level of the particulates. The smog is believed to be caused by coal burning to provide heat during the winter season.
Strong winds are expected to blow from the North on Tuesday, removing the air pollutants covering the nation. But until then, the Ministry of Environmental Protection forecasted severe air pollution for a large region of Beijing, the western part of Shandong province and the northern part of Henan province.
According to BBC, the "orange alert" raised on Sunday forced industrial factories to cut down or totally halt production to avoid contributing to the alarming level of hazardous air pollution.
Even construction sites were prohibited from transporting materials or wastes and heavy-duty trucks were banned from travelling on the city roads.
The visibility on a few hundreds of meters were also reportedly reduced due to the heavy smog in the country.
The Guardian noted on Saturday that the 20 million residents of Beijing were encouraged to remain indoors to prevent health hazards brought about by the poisonous air.
Teams were already deployed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to identify illegal emissions by industrial plants in many northern Chinese cities.
As China depends greatly on coal for energy and industrial needs, air pollution becomes one of its never-ending problems. Earlier this year, the ministry announced that out of the 74 biggest cities in China, only eight passed the basic air quality standards of the government in 2014.
The north-eastern city of Shenyang reportedly reached PM 2.5 levels of over 1,400 micrograms per cubic meter earlier this month, which activists consider the "worst ever" air quality ever reported in the country.
