BBC News, 12
January 2013
The air smells of coal dust and car fumes |
Related
Stories
Air
pollution in the Chinese capital Beijing has reached levels judged as hazardous
to human health.
Readings
from both official and unofficial monitoring stations suggested that Saturday's
pollution has soared past danger levels outlined by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The air
tastes of coal dust and car fumes, two of the main sources of pollution, says a
BBC correspondent.
Economic
growth has left air quality in many cities notoriously poor.
A heavy
smog has smothered Beijing for many days, says the BBC's Damian Grammaticas, in
the capital.
By Saturday
afternoon it was so thick you could see just a few hundred metres in the city
centre, our correspondent says, with tower blocks vanishing into the greyness.
Hazy view
Even
indoors the air looked hazy, he says.
Some people are wearing masks |
Air is
unhealthy above 100 microgrammes. At 300, all children and elderly people should
remain indoors.
Official
Beijing city readings on Saturday suggested pollution levels over 400.
Unofficial reading from a monitor at the US embassy recorded 800.
Once
inhaled, the tiny particles can cause respiratory infections, as well as
increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.
Last year
Chinese authorities warned the US embassy not to publish its data. But the
embassy said the measurements were for the benefit of embassy personnel and
were not citywide.
Related Article:
Severe Beijing smog prompts unusual transparency
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Related Article:
Severe Beijing smog prompts unusual transparency
China pollution anger spills into state media
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