A ‘red alert’ for poor-quality air was raised by the government Thursday in Nanjing, the capital of the eastern Jiangsu province. Nanjing secondary and secondary classes were cancelled, while Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province – located just north of Nanjing – banned outdoor activities, according to Xinhua.
Qingdao recorded PM2.5 Air Quality Index levels of over 300, while Nanjing saw a reading of 354 on Wednesday, according to local news portal news.longhoo.net.
PM2.5 stands for Particulate Matter, 2.5 micrometers or less, which are small enough to penetrate the smallest airways. Levels above 300 are deemed to be hazardous by the world Health Organization.
Qingdao has cracked down on the burning of both leaves and rubbish as well as vehicle usage limits, and Nanjing has said that it will assert control over industrial sources of pollutants.
While both cities predicted that the high levels of pollution would continue, a proposal has been put forward to create rain to clear the country's notorious smog.
The Chinese government is contemplating the practice of ‘cloud seeding’ to disperse the county’s notorious smog, as schools have been forced to close or suspend outdoor activities in two eastern Chinese cities over hostile breathing conditions.
A ‘red alert’ for poor-quality air was raised by the government Thursday in Nanjing, the capital of the eastern Jiangsu province. Nanjing secondary and secondary classes were cancelled, while Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province – located just north of Nanjing – banned outdoor activities, according to Xinhua.
Qingdao recorded PM2.5 Air Quality Index levels of over 300, while Nanjing saw a reading of 354 on Wednesday, according to local news portal news.longhoo.net.
PM2.5 stands for Particulate Matter, 2.5 micrometers or less, which are small enough to penetrate the smallest airways. Levels above 300 are deemed to be hazardous by the world Health Organization.
Qingdao has cracked down on the burning of both leaves and rubbish as well as vehicle usage limits, and Nanjing has said that it will assert control over industrial sources of pollutants.
While both cities predicted that the high levels of pollution would continue, a proposal has been put forward to create rain to clear the country's notorious smog.
Image Credit : AFP Photo
From RT
