'Off-the-scale' smog envelops Beijing again

As I've always said, now would be a GREAT time for China to advance itself in clean energy and environmentally safe innovations. They figure out how to do that for their population and they'd be looked up to globally.

Problem is all of the people that will get sick and die. Thousands perhaps tens of thousands dead. Then there is sickness, one hundred thousand, two hundred? People are up in arms over atomic power but do nothing about air pollution. My thoughts are with the people. They were much better off riding bikes!

i had been living in Hong Kong for a few years. it was very polluted especially the air comes from main land china. The Hong Kong government will do air cleaning as part of air pollution in 2014, it may not change the situation quickly.

The Air Quality Index at PM 2.5 has it that anything over 50 is considered hazardous. That it's already in the hundreds and "normal" isn't normal at all.

What does it mean to Japan? The wind always moves from the West to the East. Are you getting these bad air quality in Japan from Beijing? Please let me know. Thanks.

Anything from Beijing would be greatly dispersed by the time it reached Japan. Part of the problem in Beijing is that there HASN'T been any wind for a few days, so the pollution has just been sitting there.

My chest is getting tigher while I am reading this.

What does it mean to Japan? The wind always moves from the West to the East. Are you getting these bad air quality in Japan from Beijing? Please let me know. Thanks.

The US embassy’s air quality index (AQI) reading for Beijing stood at 495 and “hazardous” at 11am, after reaching 517, or “beyond index”, at 6am.

Meanwhile, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center gave the figure at 10 a.m. as 393, indicating the air in the capital was “severely polluted”.

This is NOTHING! Two weeks ago the U.S. Embassy in Beijing recorded a 755 and the official Chinese monitor recorded a 500. Well, they had to stop at 500 because their recorder doesn't measure any higher. The U.S. Embassy has a Twitter feed that sends out the current reading every hour.

https://twitter.com/BeijingAir

Went to Beijing a couple of times before their olympics. Pretty bad smog on both occasions and don't expect it's improved much. Didn't like it, won't go again unless business demands it. Prosperity at all costs could bite the Chinese government in the bum. People don't like it when family die from asthma and other pollution related effects.

Went to Shanghai once and visited that famous tower. The wait to go up and down was bad enough, but I couldn't see a damn thing when I eventually got to the top. I have a feeling Beijing is worst.

Besides, isn't Mexico City the worst in the world for air quality?

Yeap, the silence from elbudamexico is deafening.

to "OUTA HERE"

*But then again Japan's air isn't anything to brag about either.... Besides all the fools idling away their cars etc. while sleeping, texting, reading, shopping or no one in the car etc, Thats a problem in Japan, BUT most of Japans pollution comes from China, like this current situation and Yellow sand..

Nice society they are building over there. Can't wait to visit.

Went last year and it was beautiful. Mind you, everyone said I lucked out with timing but blue skies, sunny and no problems. Indeed, they need to sort out their pollution issues but it isn't like this every day. Besides, isn't Mexico City the worst in the world for air quality?

Japanese sabotage? Chemical warfare?

Huge population -> big power demand -> lots of pollution from coal burning power plants and cars -> people die from pollution -> small population -> no pollution problem.

Is this Beijing's plan?

Having been to china, l would say its just dirty air to add to dirty environments.... Beijing in particular is pure filth without even worrying about the air.

But then again Japan's air isn't anything to brag about either.....

Never been to mainland China, and with these reports of heavy pollution, no hurry to go visit such polluted, crowded cities.

Nice society they are building over there. Can't wait to visit.