“Apocalyptic” Smog Turns Skies Yellow in North, East China

Choking smog engulfs much of east and north China, forcing school closures in at least two cities

Nanjing (population: 8.2 million), the capital of Jiangsu Province, issued a “red alert” after color of the sky turned mustard yellow. The PM10 pollution level was 467 (from a peak of 502) with PM2.5 at 433 (peak of 498), as of posting.

“The National Meteorological Center on Thursday renewed a yellow alert for fog and smog as dense air continued to choke eastern and northern provinces, including Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi. The yellow alert is the third highest in China’s four-level alert system,” said a report.

Social media users in China described the environment in deserted cities with the sky turning pale yellow as “apocalyptic,” reported Reuters.

Meantime, visibility reduced to less than 50 meters in many places, forcing highways to shut in east China’s Jiangxi Province on Thursday morning. Xinhua said its reporter had seen thousands of drivers stranded on the Changdong Highway in Nanchang (population: 5.3 million), the capital of Jiangxi Province.

In October, smog forced the shutdown of Harbin, one of northeastern China’s largest cities, as Visibility dropped to under 10 meters.

PM2.5 concentration of about 15 – 25 micrograms per cubic meter pose little or no risk, according to the World Health Organization.

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