Thursday, January 19, 2012

Another 500 day

Yesterday's weather in Beijing was decidedly misty. Foggy, in fact.

And when the air is damp, the pollution levels go through the roof - often approaching or surpassing the 500 rating, which is as high as most Air Pollution Indices measure.


I was reluctant to set foot outside in that murk, but I had some urgent shopping to do, so braved it for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

The air in my neighbourhood stank of sulphur dioxide. Really, almost enough to make you gag at times. I don't think that can have just been the build-up of exhaust fumes in the air; there must have been a tanker spill somewhere nearby. Or something.  Not nice.

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