Beijing Air Tops Hazardous Levels Days Before Congress
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Beijing’s air pollution climbed to hazardous levels days before the national legislature opens its annual meeting, drawing new attention to environmental degradation that the government has promised to address.
Concentrations of PM2.5, fine particles that pose the greatest health risk, rose to 469 micrograms per cubic meter at 10 a.m. near Tiananmen Square, compared with an average of 275 in the previous 24 hours, the Beijing government reported. The World Health Organization recommends 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 of no higher than 25. The level dropped to 47 at 4:00 p.m.