Let's talk about SMOG . . .

Smog is a four letter word in China,  S.M.O.G.  

Beijing is well known for having horrible air quality.  More known for the 'Airpocolypse' earlier this year when the air index quality not only hit 500 (beyond index of measure) but reportedly hit 755 per the US Consulate! 

This past week, Shanghai broke records with a reading of 500 and was beyond the measure of index.  The app on my phone reported 509 from the US Consulate.  At 500, schools have 'a smog day' and you should not be outside.  Most flights into the Pudong International Airport were cancelled and over 50 flights were diverted to other airports.

So how does the AIQ rating system work?  From the AirNow website:
"Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality with little potential to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to the national air quality standard for the pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to protect public health. AQI values below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy-at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher."


To put how bad the situation was in perspective, most US cities do not register over 50.
Shanghai registered over 500!

On Friday, the numbers kept climbing:

View from our apartment on Friday morning, 6:30am :

 Same view Saturday morning, 6:50am :

A couple of more view Friday morning around our apartment:

 

Friday night we walked to dinner a few blocks away.  We are thankful to Pat back home in GA who gave us the BEST masks you can find before moving.  They are 3M N95 masks from the hospital and filter the larger particles in the air.  Only a respirator will get the smaller particles.  

We masked up, had dinner, then snapped this picture!

 

Season's Greetings from Shanghai!