Beijing: On the same day that Chinese President Xi Jinping was due to address climate change talks in Paris, Beijing issued its highest air pollution warning so far this year. Air quality index readings surged beyond 500, more than 20 times levels considered safe by the World Health Organisation, on Monday morning, prompting local authorities to issue an "orange alert" requiring factories to shut down or cut production and construction sites to down tools. The elderly and children have been urged to stay indoors. The problem is far from restricted to the nation's capital. Thick smog has blanketed a 530,000 square kilometre area in...
↧