Beijing Was So Polluted This Week, the Only Way to See the Sky Was on This LED Billboard
China's air pollution crisis continues unabated, this week hitting the city of Beijing, which sounded its first hazardous air quality warning of the new year—and the year has only just begun.
This tweet, circulated by CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, pretty much sums it up.
The screen normally displays advertisements and wasn't intended as a stand-in for the real sky, according to Salon, but its choice of display in that moment was serendipitous. It was also reminiscent of another in Hong Kong, which intentionally erected a fake sky when smog blanketed its buildings and harbor.
The Guardian reports that on Thursday, pollution levels in Beijing skyrocketed to more than 20 times the level considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization. Levels of fine particulate matter in the air, known as PM2.5, reached around 500 micrograms per cubic meter, which is thought to be the highest reading since January 2013.
City residents, in particular children and the elderly, were warned to stay inside, and with minimal visibility on the roads, four of Beijing's highways were temporarily closed.
Temporary shutdowns like Beijing's are becoming a frequent occurrence throughout China, prompting designers to find innovative ways to clean the country's air.
Inventor Daan Roosegaarde has successfully tested a smog-sucking vacuum cleaner, which he hopes to have installed in a Beijing city park later this year.
British artist Matt Hope also created a prototype of what he calls a Breathing Bicycle that pumps filtered air into the rider's face mask. And Lightfog Creative and Design Company, a firm based in Thailand, has created a concept for a bicycle that pours clean air into the atmosphere as it's being pedaled. If it works in practice, the company's hope is that it can have far-reaching implications for pollution-choked countries throughout Asia, including China.
Still, those designs address air quality on an individual scale, not a national one. Until dramatic and sweeping reforms are enacted, China's urban residents will have to live with days where the only way to see the sky is by viewing it on a billboard.
Related stories on TakePart:
• 5 Reasons Why Smog Is Good for You (According to One Chinese Journalist)
• Air Pollution Got You Down? Clean It Up With This Smog-Sucking Vacuum Cleaner
• Big Trouble in Thirsty China: PRC Doubles Down on Cloud Seeding
• Millions of Fish-Killing Plastic Pellets Wash Up on Hong Kong Beaches
Original article from TakePart
