Hello dear blog readers website
Yesterday, when I left the house for work, I was simply amazed, the whole street was shrouded in gray fog, I couldn’t see a thing. In the evening, I went towards Tiananmen Square on business. When I walked past the square, it was almost impossible to see anything. It feels like there is a big fire in the whole city. The reason for it all is the terrible smog that every winter becomes a constant occurrence in Beijing. The Chinese capital is turning into Silent Hill...
What is PM2.5?
As far as I know, there is a safety standard set by WHO for the content of harmful substances in the air (PM2.5 - fine suspended particles in the air). So, in Beijing this norm is exceeded 40 (!) times. These particles are very harmful to the human body and can cause serious diseases, especially of the lungs. It comes to the point that the elderly and children are advised not to leave the house if possible. They say that the damage caused by such smog to human health can be compared to that which a heavy smoker receives by smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Some people note that in Beijing there is a constant cough with black sputum; there is even the concept of “Beijing cough”.
PM2.5 level is important indicator to determine the threat of smog. In China, there are 3 alert levels: yellow, orange and red. The last one is the most serious.
Causes of smog in Beijing
More than 20 million people live in Beijing, a huge number that exceeds the population of many countries. Naturally, on the streets there are a very large number of cars, all kinds of eateries cooking in open fire. The most main cause of smog– coal plants and oil giants of China that produce low quality fuel.
Beijingers are very concerned about air quality. Under public pressure, the authorities were forced to take some measures: more than a hundred enterprises were closed, production standards were being tightened, coal-fired boilers were being converted to gas-fired boilers, outdoor cooking was prohibited (although this was not always carried out), a restriction was introduced on the use of pyrotechnics, and a promise was made to deal with the smog problem in 5-10 years. 
Why aren't you wearing a mask today?
How does the morning begin for many people living in Beijing? From checking the level of PM2.5 in the air. Many people have special applications for this purpose on their phones and computers. People at work discuss this topic all the time. People around us on the streets wear protective masks, and this has long become a common occurrence. The question “Why aren’t you wearing a mask today” has been popular for a couple of years now.
It comes to the point that one enterprising businessman began to release air in cans, the starting price was about 5 yuan, and now on Taobao they offer goods even for 50 yuan!
Reaction of foreigners 
Due to poor environmental conditions, we have decided to leave Beijing for the foreseeable future. As statistics show, we are not the only ones. In Beijing, the quality of life suffers greatly. Huge overpopulated city, constant hustle and bustle, food poor quality, the ubiquitous noise and, of course,... I seriously believe that workers should be paid extra for harmful activities. And this compensation should be high.
Since 2013, foreign specialists began to leave Beijing, primarily those with children. Wealthy Chinese are also not lagging behind, either moving to greener cities in China or emigrating to other countries.
Chinese leaders are very worried because they are leaving the country not only ordinary people, but also high-level specialists.
The authorities promise that the problem will be solved, perhaps within a few years. However, several years in Silent Hill can lead to serious health consequences in the future. Therefore, many prefer to run wherever their eyes look.
The capital of China is notorious for catastrophic air pollution. Smog penetrates even indoor spaces. Many people, concerned about this problem, carry out operations to plug even the smallest openings in their homes. Only an absolutely airtight apartment can receive the unspoken status of being clean.
Pollution penetrates even through double glazing
Beijing residents are concerned about the effects of toxic substances in the atmosphere of their polluted city. The most dangerous of them are solid particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns. Such microscopic elements can penetrate from the street into the room even through double glazing. They find the smallest gaps in their path and sift through them. The most problematic area is traditionally considered to be the joints between the window and the frame. The only solution may be masking tape.
People are confused
Any resident of Beijing high-rise buildings will tell you about the strange feeling of an inevitably impending disaster. Older people feel as if they have returned to the days of their youth, when the Communist Party conducted active propaganda and training of the population. Thus, in the 70s, state television showed a film telling how to survive an imperialist nuclear attack. The method of preventing radiation from entering a home is surprisingly reminiscent of the current state of affairs. Only now it doesn’t look much like a drill. People are trying to save their health from real pollution caused by human activity. 
What are the effects of air pollution in China?
The problem of air pollution and smog control in China is currently so poorly handled that its consequences are already being felt by health officials. According to statistics, smog kills more than a million Chinese every year. Undoubtedly, premature death is too severe a retribution for a thoughtless attitude to the atmosphere in one of the largest industrial cities in the world. In addition to enterprises, the air is polluted by ordinary human activities: traditional barbecues in the open areas of high-rise buildings, burning garbage and road dust. In the most affected human activity areas of the city are already experiencing a decline in average life expectancy by five years. If the authorities continue to fail to act, this trend will only worsen. 
Critical point
The past few weeks have been the most critical in the history of the Chinese capital. The maximum safe pollution limit was exceeded several times. Now this figure is more than 200 microns particles per cubic meter. People's lives in Beijing resemble forced house arrest. Children suffer the most from this. These days the prevailing theme in social networks China's theme is smog. People actively share their opinions on mobile applications that help find shopping centers or cafes with the cleanest air. Almost every passerby on the street is armed with an air quality detector with a particle counter and a mask. 
Transfer of production to China
Experts say that today's air pollution in Beijing far exceeds the same problem that the two largest cities faced in the 1950s. English cities London and Manchester. A month ago, a cloud of toxic air hung over the Chinese capital. The smog then spread over thousands of kilometers, and along the way it absorbed new components: soot particles from coal-fired power plants and car exhaust. This phenomenon has literally strangled and continues to strangle the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
Note that the price of a set of filters for one air purifier reaches $120. This is enough for six months. China's problem should not remain within the country. The Western world has done well by moving factories and factories for the production of goods to China. However, the things that have filled the whole world do not have any environmental guarantee. Unfortunately, while citizen protests against pollution environment rare and immediately suppressed by the authorities.
Beijing's air quality is better than others major cities in northern China.
A report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection compared air quality readings for the first three months of the year in 28 cities in northern China (Beijing and Tianjin, as well as cities in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi and Henan), the study showed that air quality in Beijing was - the best.
Which may be somewhat surprising, because if you remember, Beijing looked like this in January:
And like this in February:
The skies did clear up in March when the Communist Party sessions began and Beijing's air quality improved, but then the skies became foggy again.
Unsurprisingly, Hebei's air quality was rated the worst, with its capital Shijiazhuang at the bottom of the list. The average PM2.5 reading for all 28 cities over the three-month period was 103 micrograms per cubic meter, more than four times the WHO safety standard. For readings above 100, China recommends that "children and adults, as well as people with respiratory diseases such as asthma, limit prolonged exposure to outdoor activities."
We must pay tribute to the capital, Beijing is really trying to clean up the air; for example, a special “anti-smog squad” was created, which for the first time arrested a person for air pollution (an employee of a local heating company). Beijing also closed the city's last large coal-fired power plant. This year the capital promised to reduce intermediate level PM2.5 to 60, which will significantly improve air quality in Beijing.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has accused thousands of polluters of filing false emissions data and resisting inspections, with local authorities turn a blind eye to this. In response, the ministry announced that more than 5,000 inspectors would be sent to investigate the sources of air pollution in northern China in what it called "China's largest-ever smog inspection" that would last a year.
The daily average concentration of fine particulate matter PM 2.5, the main source of smog, exceeded 350 micrograms per cubic meter in some areas on Saturday, the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center reported. This is 14 times higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) at 25 mcg/m3.
According to data as of 12:00 local time (14:00 Vladivostok time), the level of pollution in the Chaoyang district in the east of the city (business center) reached 356 µg/cube, in the Fengtai district in the south - 308 µg/cube, in Mentougou in the west - 251 mcg/cube, in the northern regions of the capital - from 150 to 250 mcg/cubic.
The level of air pollution is considered "life-threatening".
The center said in a statement that people with heart and lung diseases may experience significant worsening of symptoms, while healthy people may experience weakness and malaise. Children, elderly people, as well as citizens with diseases of the lungs and cardiovascular system are recommended not to leave the premises. City residents should avoid physical activity outdoors.
Note that Chinese President Xi Jinping said the fight against air pollution and conservation is one of China's “three main battles,” along with poverty eradication and financial risk prevention.
In 2013, an emergency response plan for severe air pollution was adopted. It regulates the actions of city services and enterprises in accordance with four levels of environmental alert (blue, yellow, orange and red).
In 2019, according to municipal services, the average level of PM 2.5 particles was 42 µg/m3.
This week, city authorities decided to tighten emissions standards in the fight against urban smog. From now on, vehicles will have to undergo regular inspections. Violators of the regulations will be fined up to 5 thousand yuan ($725) and even deprived of their driver's license.
IN recent years translation is also encouraged in the capital vehicles and mechanisms for new types of energy. Thus, the majority of buses in the municipal transport fleet already have electric motors, and many also run on gas. Beijing residents who purchase electric cars are provided with significant benefits, including registration of license plates.
