Environment

Beijing's 2nd Smog Red Alert of the Month

Beijing was enveloped in eye-watering, throat-irritating smog on Saturday as the second red alert of the month went into effect in the Chinese capital, forcing many cars off the roads and restricting factory production.

A wave of smog settled over the notoriously polluted city of 22.5 million overnight and is forecast to last into Tuesday because of a lack of strong winds.

Smog red alerts, the most serious in a four-tier warning system, are triggered when high pollution levels are forecast to last more than 72 hours.

As a result of the red alert, schools were ordered closed and half the city's cars forced off the roads each day. Barbecue grills and other outdoor smoke sources have been banned and factory production restricted.

Environment

Beijing Smog Pollution - Smog Holiday Taken by Residents

Some residents took a smog holiday away from Beijing on Tuesday as the Chinese capital launched restrictions under its first red alert for pollution, closing schools, suspending factories and keeping half the vehicles off the streets.

Although Beijing has in recent years seen smog at much worse levels than Tuesday’s, the latest bout of pollution was the first to trigger a red alert under a 2-year-old system that requires a forecast at the outset of at least 72 hours of consecutive high pollution.

The capital’s hazardous smog has persisted despite the Chinese government’s stated priority of cleaning up the legacy of pollution left from years of full-tilt economic growth. Most of the smog is blamed on coal-fired power plants, along with vehicle emissions, construction and factory work.

Environment

Santiago Smog Emergency Shuts Down Chile's Capital

The first smog emergency for the Chilean capital in 16 years forced officials to shut down 3,000 factories and other businesses, and to order thousands of cars off Santiago’s roadways.

A toxic blanket of gray wintertime smog has covered the sprawling city for much of June, trapped by the Andes to the east and smaller hills around the capital.

A temperature inversion in the lower atmosphere, typical during winter, provided a "cap" for the layer of smog.

The stagnant air has been accompanied by the driest June in four decades, with no rain predicted for at least another week.

Authorities recommended that the city’s 7 million residents avoid outdoor activities due to potential health problems that may be brought on by exposure to the smog.

But the hazardous pollution peaked just as Chile was hosting the Copa America, with Santiago being one of the main venues.

The federation organizing the soccer (football) competition does not allow matches to be canceled because of poor air quality.

Disease

Smog Responsible for Underweight Newborns

The worse the air pollution, the more underweight the children were in the study group. A new U.K.-based study of more than 3 million human births in nine countries has shown that exposure to air pollution is linked to low birth weights. Scientists looked at the average level of air pollution expecting mothers were exposed to, specifically exhaust and power plant emissions.

They found that pregnant women living in areas with high pollution were more likely to have babies with low birth weight.

Being undersized at childbirth has been linked with infant mortality as well as a host of diseases and chronic health problems throughout a child's life.

Previous studies had suggested a link between air pollution and low birth weight but contained too little data to confirm it.

While much has been done about air quality in Western nations over the past several decades, urban centers such as Beijing and other industrialized areas of Asia have shown a sharp increase in air pollution.

Beijing last month experienced air pollution that officials termed was “off the charts.”

Environment

Chinese media urges action on air pollution

Chinese media said on Monday the government had to take urgent action to tackle air pollution, which has blanketed parts of the country at dangerous levels in recent days, and one newspaper called for a re-think of a "fixation" on economic growth.

China's media are under tight Communist Party control and usually steer clear of controversy, but news organisations are more free to report on pollution, partly because it can't be hidden from the public.

Air quality in Beijing was far above hazardous levels over the weekend, reaching 755 on an index that measures particulate matter in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers. A level of 300 is considered dangerous while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20.