Beijing air pollution hits "hazardous" level

Taken From: The Star

Published on: January 30, 2013

On the left is what China looks like with PM2.5 air pollution.
On the right is what it looks like normally. 

Summary: This is the fourth time in the past month were Beijing is covered in a white haze of industrial smog. Inhabitants were urged to stay indoors and more than 100 flights were canceled. Visibility was reduced around 100 meters. The government suspended 103 heavy-polluting factories, to ease the situation. Most of the pollution is coming from chemical factories surround Beijing and coal being burned for heating. The air pollution reach peak level at PM2.5. Meaning, the air can travel and embed deep into the lungs. This poses a serious health risk. Direct exposure to PM2.5 level pollution can lead to cardiovascular and lung disease; It also increases the risk of cancer. Children are at the most risk, because their lungs are still developing. In 2012, PM2.5 air pollution may have been connected to 8,572 premature deaths. People are wearing face masks to help filter out the polluted air, but they are only limited, because they cannot filter out harmful ozone. China is having trouble with balancing the citizens' demand for cleaner air and the need for economic development. Senior officials urge residents to take buses and subways instead of using private cars. 

Opinion: I think China needs to take more control, and take more care for the environment. As a growing country, I understand they want to have economic growth, but they need to learn when, it has gone too far and they are putting their citizens at risk. I believe the government should put pollution laws or policies into place to prevent this from happening. This is the fourth time in one month the same thing has happened. The poses a serious health risk for children, and even more of a problem for people already with respiratory problems. Babies are even dying prematurely from their mothers inhaling the polluted air. China's government needs to act fast to protect their citizens. China has always been ignoring the fact that their is bad air pollution. Authorities have always tried to cover it up. But they are no longer able to avoid it with the rise of social media. I think China should have acted upon the issue immediately.