A Danwei reader sent this in:
Beijing’s air pollution index is off the charts right now. Literally. Highest ever on record.
China’s State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has a pollution rating scale that measures up to 500. I don’t think it’s ever reached that level before. 25 is safe. 200 is a bad day for Beijing. The average for the last 24 hours has been above 500.
You can see SEPA’s figures for December 12. Note that while Beijing air gets a 500, the highest figure for another city is 212, measured in Shijiazhuang, a Hebei city close to Beijing.
The SEPA chart says that the major pollutant is ‘inhalable particles’ (可吸入颗粒物). It is not clear if that includes dust as opposed to industrial pollutants.