Smog Selfie

Beijing’s 1st ever red alert for smog  to last through Thursday noon

At 23:00 local time on Tuesday, the PM2.5 AQI in Beijing was 346 [“Hazardous”] down from a recent high of 400.

[The EPA’s revised breakpoints for the upper end of the hazardous air pollution band, AQI of 401 – 500, is equivalent to PM2.5 concentration of 350.5 – 500 μgm−³ averaged over a 24-hour period.  —Editor]

Original caption: A tourist takes photo of the Forbidden City amid heavy fog at the Jingshan Park in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 8, 2015. The red alert, the most serious level, will last from 7 a.m. on Tuesday to noon on Thursday. Under a red alert, the city’s emergency management headquarters has advised kindergartens, primary and high schools to suspend classes, banned outdoor operations on construction sites and required some industrial plants to limit or stop production. Car use will be limited during the red alert period as cars are allowed on the roads on alternating days depending on the odd or even numbers of their license plates. In addition, 30 percent of government cars will be banned from streets on an odd/even basis. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Original caption: This combination photo shows the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests of the Temple of Heaven, taken on June 14, 2015 (L) and Dec. 8, 2015 (R), in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing has issued its first red alert for air pollution under a four-tier emergency response system created in October 2013. The red alert, the most serious level, will last from 7 a.m. on Tuesday to noon on Thursday. Under a red alert, the city’s emergency management headquarters has advised kindergartens, primary and high schools to suspend classes, banned outdoor operations on construction sites and required some industrial plants to limit or stop production. Car use will be limited during the red alert period as cars are allowed on the roads on alternating days depending on the odd or even numbers of their license plates. In addition, 30 percent of government cars will be banned from streets on an odd/even basis. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua). More images…

Related Links

• Hazardous Air: Beijing Finally Issues a ‘Red Alert’ December 7, 2015

Outbreak of Flesh-eating Disease Plagues Daesh-controlled Parts of Syria

Daesh imposes death sentence on occupied communities

The potentially deadly “flesh-eating” disease named leishmaniasis is rapidly spreading in Syria, caused by the sand flies feeding on the corpses dumped in the streets by Daesh (aka, ISIS, ISIL), the head of the Kurdish Red Crescent told Rudaw news.

“As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of innocent people and dumping their corpses in streets, this is the leading factor behind the rapid spread of Leishmanisis disease,” said Dilqash Isa.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most common forms are cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects several internal organs (usually spleen, liver, and bone marrow), according to CDC.

The sand flies that transmit the parasite are only about one third the size of typical mosquitoes or even smaller.

“Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in many of the poorest countries of all continents. “Aleppo boil” is one of the recognised names given to this disease in the medical literature. Although CL used to be well-controlled and well-documented in Syria, its incidence has dramatically increased since the beginning of the war,” said a report.

“Currently, an outbreak has been observed due to the war in Syria and the lack of measures to combat the disease, particularly in the besieged and medically underserved areas. New publications from the Ministry of Health reveal shocking statistics. There was an incidence rate of 53,000 cases in 2012 and 41,000 cases were reported in the first 2 quarters of 2013 (13). According to a recent telephone conversation with the head of the Leishmaniasis Centre in Aleppo (Dr. Ahmad Jatal, personal communication), 22,365 cases were reported in the previous year in Aleppo alone.”

Sores caused by leishmaniasis. Source: Rudaw

Leishmaniasis Association in Syria

The symptoms of leishmaniasis are skin sores which erupt weeks to months after the person affected is bitten by sand flies. Other consequences, which can manifest anywhere from a few months to years after infection, include fever, damage to the spleen and liver, and anemia.

[Honey, smile for uncle Salman, cousin Obama and his family. —Editor]

Girl affected by lieshmaniasis. Photo taken in Ferdaws area of Aleppo by Syrian American Kenan Rahmani (via Rudaw).