Beijing Raises Pollution Alert to the Second-Highest Level
- City moves smog alert to orange for first time in 13 months
- China says it achieved five-year pollutant-reduction target
Putting a Lid on Emitters; China Tackles Pollution
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Air pollution reached “hazardous” levels in Beijing on Sunday, prompting the city to upgrade to the second-highest alert for the first time in 13 months on the same day that the Chinese government said it has met pollution-reduction targets for the year.
Beijing’s municipal government lifted the air-pollution alert to orange at 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. The concentration of PM2.5, the particulates that pose the greatest risk to human health, as of 9:34 p.m. Saturday was 300 micrograms per cubic meter -- which is about 12 times higher than World Health Organization-recommended limits.