Beijing air pollution hits record levels

A lack of wind is being blamed for the acrid grey smog currently blanketing Beijing with the city enduring some of the worst pollution on record.

Official readings taken over the weekend showed PM2.5 readings in Beijing of 886 micrograms per cubic metre. To give that some perspective – 25 micrograms is the WHO’s cut-off level for safe emissions.

The situation in the past few days has become so bad that even state-run media are openly criticising the government. “More suffocating than the haze is the weakness in response” headlined today’s issue of the China Youth Daily, a popular Communist-Party paper. 

Perhaps with few other options, the Chinese Government has taken an unusually transparent approach to  the issue. A number of news conferences have been held in Beijing throughout the day warning residents of the danger the smog is causing and urging them to take shelter inside.

Officials in Beijing have reportedly begun ordering factories to scale back emissions and were spraying water at building sites in an effort to control the smog. The move is reminiscent of Government policy in the lead-up to 2008 Beijing Olympics where factories were shutdown for weeks in order to clear the air for the Summer Games.

Locals say the streets are noticeably quieter as people look to minimize exposure to the toxic smog. Those insistent on facing the elements rarely do so without the aid of a facemask – an item set to become a hot commodity in China as supplies dwindle in stores.

Rapid industrial development, reliance on coal power and a frenetic-paced growth in vehicle ownership has heightened already significant air pollution problems in Beijing over the previous decade. Environmental policies in China are on a par  with with modern Western standards, but are often ignored as growth takes priority over all else.