Beijing: Headlights At Noon In Heavy Smog

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Analysts report the worst air pollution possible on the Beijing Air Pollution Index as visibility plunged, yet official Beijing statistics indicated the Chinese capital was just short of enjoying a "blue-sky" day.

Two days ago, the skies were black because of an unusually fierce thunderstorm.

Today, they were a filthy grey – due, it seems, to a build-up of hazardous aerosols.

The independent monitoring station, Beijing Air, reported a peak in the air-pollution index at over 500, the worst limit on the scale and far past the point where children, the elderly and people with lung diseases should avoid outdoor physical activity.

As the blogger and pollution analyst Live From Beijing noted, "the air quality is theoretically worse than "hazardous," whatever that might be."

Yet, the official data showed a benign 104, deemed lightly polluted and only four over the point at which Beijing would notch up another "blue-sky" day.

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