Air Pollution In Beijing Reaches Hazardous Levels

November 28th, 2015

Awake Goy

Authorities are advising citizens to stay indoors as air pollution reaches hazardous levels in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

According to the US Embassy’s monitoring station in Beijing, the level of poisonous, tiny particles of PM2.5 was at 391 micrograms per cubic meter on Saturday

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline for maximum healthy exposure is 25. They say that any level of harmful particles over that figure increases the risks of heart disease, strokes and lung ailments.

Press TV reports:

Beijing, which has an estimated population of over 21 million, has been blanketed in a large gray haze, reducing visibility to a few hundred meters since Friday.

China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection earlier this week forecasted sever air pollution for the greater Beijing region, eastern Shandong Province and central Henan Province until Tuesday.

The ministry expects strong winds from the north to blow away air pollutants later next week, but it has advised the public to stay indoors until then.

Authorities reportedly blame considerable amounts of coal burning for heating as a major cause for the current air pollution.

Investigators have been dispatched to several northern cities in China to check on illegal emissions by factories that are contributing to the current high levels of air pollution.

China has already restricted industrial production and limited car usage in cities across the Asian country.