In an attempt to protect the citizen from deadly pollution, Beijing has issued its first ever ‘Red Alert’ over the city’s smog as the Chinese capital is going to be shutdown.
Red alert is the highest state of caution, the warning means that schools, construction and other businesses will have to shutdown.
The air in the city is packed with poisonous particles, people could become ill just by going outside.
Air pollution in Beijing had more than 256 micrograms of the poisonous particles. World Health Organization says that anything over 25 micrograms per cubic metre of the poisonous particles is considered dangerous.
The poisonous smog is caused by burning of coal and heating and with the city’s many construction sites that produces huge amounts of dust. High humidity and low winds makes it more worse.
After four days of what Greenpeace called “Airpocalypse,” the group called on Beijing to issue a red alert.
“The city is blanketed in a thick, choking smog that has covered an area of North China the size of Spain and Beijing’s most famous landmarks have been completely obscured by the yellow haze,” wrote Zhang Kai on the group’s blog.
“At this level of response, schools and kindergartens can remain open, meaning that children are risking their health in order to attend class and car emissions haven’t been restricted at all,” the group wrote.
