Beijing
(AsiaNews) - The blanket of smog and pollution over the capital continues
unabated. With
alarms that have lasted more than a week, today the air quality index was at
495 ("dangerous") at 11 in the morning, but at 6 was 517. Typically,
an index that exceeds the value of 100 is considered "not good for health."
The
data referred to above is the "free" information registered in the
U.S. embassy in Beijing. The
municipal center of the city shows a lower value, 393, which, however, is still
a sign of "serious pollution".
Yesterday
the same center reported a value of PM2.5 (particulate matter - dust - Airborne
2.5 micrograms per cubic meter) ranging between 340 and 360. A
value of 100 is considered dangerous to the health of people with heart or lung
diseases, children and the elderly. The
World Health Organization has placed a limit of 20 in normal air.
The
smog that reduces visibility, has spread to other parts of the Southeast of the
country, creating problems for flights at the airports of Shijiazhuang (Hebei)
and Zhengzhou (Henan).
In
recent days, almost 1,000 children were taken to hospitals in the capital for
treatment of respiratory problems. Among
the people and especially among the expatriate community it is being defined as
"Beijing cough" due to smog. And
its influence is such that many expats living in the city, are now trying to
move to the country, to avoid what they call "Greyjing ".
There
is a growing concern for health issues among the Chinese population in the last
10 years, in large cities, there has been a 60%increase of lung cancer, even
confirmed by the China Daily. At
the same time anger is also mounting against the leaders who allowed such
pollution caused by the wild and anarchist industrialization of recent decades without
any care for the enforcement or any laws on environmental protection.
Local
newspapers describe the "healthy" lifestyles of the representatives
of the government, who have expensive air purifiers in their homes and offices and
who shop in special "bio" farms, to protect them from food
poisoning.