Sometimes I really miss Beijing...then there are those other days...

[bridget_coila]

The air has been bad there lately...horrifically bad...I worry about my friends' health...especially those with little ones :(

Here are some pics that show the scene lately:

AAt an AQI of about 300-350:

Comments

[lalomartins]

My flatmate told me at 150 or 200 German cities declare emergency and tell people to stay indoors.

I'm here thinking I'm glad it's so easy to find DDR-era gas masks here, I'll buy one if I ever go to Beijing again :-D

[mcjulie]

That's terrifying.

I don't know if they even used the same AQI when I was a kid in southern California in the 70s, but we used to have smog alerts once or twice a year, usually in the fall when the inversion layer was at its most powerful. LA really worked to clean up for the 1984 Olympics, and it seems like a lot of the changes stuck -- when I visit there now, it never seems as dirty as I remember.