MCLC: choking smog continues

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: jacqueline winter (dujuan99 at gmail.com)
Subject: choking smog continues
***********************************************************

Source: South China Morning Post (1/14/13):
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1127738/two-more-days-choking-smog-l
arge-parts-china

Two more days of choking smog for large parts of China
By Staff and The Associated Press

China’s national weather service has said that the choking smog that
wreaked havoc in larges parts of the country is expected to stay for at
least two more days.

Worst-hit regions including Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Henan and Shandong
are expected to continue to be covered in smog leaving visibility below
one kilometre, in some areas even lower than 200 metres, said the National
Meteorological Centre in Beijing.

Thick layers of haze also cover a wide swathe of regions across
southeastern and central China, affecting provinces such as Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Guanxi.

The above-mentioned regions aren’t expected to see major relief until
Wednesday, when a cold front coming down from the north is expected to
clear away the haze and pollutants, said the centre.

(A map released by the National Meteorological Centre showing forecasts of
smog- (brown) and fog- (yellow) affected regions of China Monday and
Tuesday. Photo: National Meteorological Centre)

On Monday, Beijing schools cancelled outdoor flag-raisings and took sports
classes indoors while hospitals saw a spike in respiratory cases.

City authorities ordered many factories to scale back emissions, and were
spraying water at building sites to try to tamp down the dust and dirt
that worsens the noxious haze that has hung over the city since late last
week.

Demand spiked for face masks and air purifiers, and hospitals saw surges
of up to 30 per cent in residents seeking help for breathing problems,
state-run media outlets reported. In an unusual public announcement,
Beijing authorities advised all residents to "take measures to protect
their health".

"It’s really terrible. I’m extremely upset, but there’s really nothing
much I can do," said a Beijing resident out for a morning stroll. Like
many Chinese, the man would give only his surname, Kang.

Another man, a 60-year-old retiree surnamed Chen, said his elderly
relatives had moved to stay with family members outside the city to avoid
the pollution. "I’m in pretty good shape, but the older folks have a lot
of problems with their hearts — breathing, and high blood pressure," Chen
said.

The website of Beijing’s Capital International Airport shows
<applewebdata://EF87CDBA-6FDA-43A3-A275-FF6845039A44> [1] more than 30
domestic and international flights in and out of Beijing cancelled on
Sunday, and nearly 20 already cancelled on Monday.

In Beijing, PM2.5 fine-particle pollutant readings in certain parts of the
city reached nearly 1,000 during some hours of the weekend. Similar levels
were only seen before during severe dust storms in the spring or night
hours of the Spring Festival when millions of families set off fireworks
to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

As of 11 am on Monday, the US embassy’s air pollution readings, measured
on embassy grounds in downtown Beijing, still stood at "hazardous" levels
and more than a dozen times above the level of 25 considered safe by the
World Health Organisation.

PM2.5 are tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or
about 1/30th the average width of a human hair. They can penetrate deep
into the lungs, and measuring them is considered a more accurate
reflection of air quality than other methods.

More on this:
China state media urges action as smog hits 40 times safe limit
<applewebdata://EF87CDBA-6FDA-43A3-A275-FF6845039A44> [2]
Smog threat remains; Beijing issues first ever orange alert
<applewebdata://EF87CDBA-6FDA-43A3-A275-FF6845039A44> [3]
Links:
[1] http://en.bcia.com.cn/business/flightInfo.jspx?language=en
[2] 
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1127814/chinese-state-media-calls-tr
ansparency-smog-reaches-40-times-safe-limit
[3] 
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1127398/smog-threat-remains-beijing-
issues-first-ever-orange-alert