China is full of smog lately, leaving people unable to see less than half a football field ahead of them due to a high rate of pollution.
The small-particle pollution is 40 times higher than the international safety standard, leaving many to cancel events and travel being impacted. Winter is a tough time when it comes to air pollution in northern China due to the combination of certain weather conditions along with an increase in the burning of coal for heat. The city of Harbin's heating system started Sunday and by Monday, visibility was significantly decreased, the Associated Press reports.
"I couldn't see anything outside the window of my apartment, and I thought it was snowing," Wu Kai, 33, a housewife and mother of a baby boy told AP. "Then I realized it wasn't snow. I have not seen the sun for a long time."
Kai said her husband went to work wearing a mask and he could barely see right in front of him. His usual bus wasn't running. "It's scary, too dangerous. How could people drive or walk on such a day?"
The density of the small-particle matter, PM2.5, was over 600 micrograms per cubic meter and event reached exactly 1,000 in Harbin. This is the first time it has been recorded at 1,000 since it started releasing the stats in January 2012. It's not clear if the devices go over 1,000. A safe measurement is 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
Primary and middle schools were closed as well as some highways. About 40 flights to destination in southern China and Beijing were cancelled or postponed at Harbin's Taiping International Airport on Monday.
U.S. jazz singer Patti Austen cancelled her concert in Beijing due to an asthma attack that might have been connected to the pollution. Her management says the 63-year-old was treated in a hospital on Friday. She returned to her hotel later but couldn't perform in Beijing. Her Saturday night concert in Shanghai went on as scheduled. Manager, Barry Orms says as someone who has asthma, she would have been "affected by the amount of pollution. "Patti has expressed our belief that the Chinese government can be a leader in this very important issue."
China has had very bag smog problems in its major cities. The government pit a lot of focus into economic development without paying much attention to the environment. These recently launched anti-pollution plans to curb the problem.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
