Yesterday Danwei relayed reports that Beijing’s air quality was the worst so far this year, but the air is even worse today.
According to the State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), today Beijing’s API (Air Pollution Index) is 500, 79 points higher than yesterday, and more than 300 points higher than anything considered healthy. In fact, a U.S. government agency website says breathing in air with an API higher than 300 is “hazardous: Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.”
The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BJEPB) has released data for each district of Beijing including the outlying rural areas. You can clearly see the pollution bowl effect — Beijing is in a flat plain surrounded by mountains, and the bowl traps heat and air particles. For example, while Beijing’s downtown API is 500 today, Yanqing is only 200.
This effect can also be seen in the photographs illustrating this post, taken earlier this week.