On Wednesday, the dense smog over Beijing has forced the city’s international airport to cancel a large number of flights. The poor visibility caused the grounding of flights to the U.S., Russia, and Singapore. The U.S. Embassy has monitors for air quality and the reading for Wednesday was 430 at 1:00 pm. A reading of 500 indicates the maximum level of danger. The weather service indicated that visibility in Beijing was less than 100 meters on Wednesday.
In addition, the monitors pick up the amount of tiny particulates that are in the air and on Wednesday they were 395 micrograms, which is 15 times higher than the acceptable limits of the World Health Organization. These particulates can enter the lungs and the bloodstream. Between January 10 and 16, the city experienced its worst air quality ever recorded and the acting mayor Wayne Anshun announced on Tuesday that they are instituting a series of pollution-reducing measures, although scientists say the pollution is mainly due to heavy industry in neighboring provinces.
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