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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

China Smog Persists for 6th Consecutive Day Tuesday Feb 25,2014

Pollution-weary residents of smog-hit Beijing turned to black humour to help cope with gruelling conditions Tuesday Feb 25,2014 as a large swathe of China was covered by a thick blanket of haze for a sixth consecutive day.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC)onMonday Feb 24,2014 turned up the smog alert from yellow to orange, the second-highest level in severity, and at 8 am Tuesday continued the alert for another 24 hours, according to a statement.
China's meteorological alerts are labeled blue, yellow, orange and red in order of ascending severity

A visitor takes a picture at the Tiananmen Square amid the heavy smog in Beijing, Feb 20, 2014.  

Vehicles run in heavy smog in Beijing, Feb 20, 2014.


Young women wearing facial masks walk in smog-shrouded Beijing, Feb 20, 2014.

 

A man walks along the moat of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, Feb 21, 2014


Buildings are seen through smog in Tianjin, Feb 21, 2014.  
 
 Water is sprayed in Beijing on Friday Feb 21,2014 as part of measures to reduce dust and ease air pollution.
 An overpass is seen through smog in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 23, 2014


Picture taken on Feb 24, 2014 shows residents waiting for buses in a bus station in haze-covered Beijing

 Small airborne particles, which easily penetrate the lungs and are known as PM 2.5, have been linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, and the problem has emerged as a major source of discontent with China's Govt.

Levels of PM 2.5 have repeatedly reached more than 400 micrograms per cubic metre in recent days, according to a count by the US embassy in Beijing.

This figure is more than 16 times the World Health Organization's (WHO) safety guideline of 25 micrograms.

Official Chinese monitoring statistics said PM 2.5 levels reached 576 micrograms per cubic metre on Tuesday in Tangshan, in the neighbouring province of Hebei.

The haze is expected to last until Thursday Feb 27,2014 and Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO Representative in China described it as a "crisis" at a press conference Tuesday Feb 25,2014

The noxious haze - a common phenomenon in winter in many parts of northern China - was once again a top topic on China's Internet message boards.

Images of statues of Chinese intellectuals Li Dazhao, Cai Yuanpei and Chen Daisun, along with Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, wearing anti-pollution facemasks were among the most shared on Tuesday Feb 25,2014

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