CHINA: The people of Beijing are breathing relatively clean air again after a weekend of toxic smog. Visibility had been cut to an eye-stinging 50 metres and many residents had complained of sore throats, tiredness and headaches.
It was one of the worse cases of smog in China in recent years,despite redoubled efforts to clean the air before the Olympic Games, which comes to the city in 2008.
An increasingly poisonous environment is one of the most visible and worrying side effects of rampant economic growth in China. The World Bank estimates that 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China, and Beijing is one of the worst offenders.
Some high-profile guests had to breathe lungfuls of dirty air during the most recent smog. UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan was in town, as was French President Mr Jacques Chirac.
Mr Chirac had to review the People's Liberation Army in what state media referred to as "fog". An aerobatic display by the French airforce had to be rescheduled because of pollution haze at the Nanyuan airfield.
Based on the United States's Environmental Protection Agency air quality index, Mexico City and Hong Kong declare an environmental emergency when the level hits 170. Beijing was running between 250 and 500 for much of the week-long National Day holiday, which began on October 1st. Over 300 is classified as "hazardous" and people are urged to avoid "all outdoor exertion".
The toxic smog is only the latest sign of China's insatiable appetite for the car. The low-grade petrol used causes about 80 per cent of the smog, said the state environmental protection agency. About 1,000 new cars arrive on the streets of Beijing each day and by the time of the Olympics in 2008, today's two million cars are likely to have risen to three million.
"The past few days I've felt tired and my nose and throat are uncomfortable. This is a direct reaction of my body to the pollution," Chinese environmentalist Mr Hu Jia told the Beijing Evening News. "I imagine that it will be worse for old people, children and other weak people who are more vulnerable," he said.
Respiratory disease is one of the biggest killers in China. Many doctors blame smog for big rises in bronchitis, tuberculosis and lung cancer.
China introduced its first fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars last week in a bid to control soaring oil consumption. In addition, the government has promised to improve air quality to ensure it is at a good level at least 62 per cent of the time.
Beijing published a revised standard on coal use last month to stop the burning of high-sulphur coal and the government said it would fine power plants which emit too much sulphur dioxide.
State media have said Beijing's air quality has improved gradually since 1998, when it began to address the problem.
According to government data, heavily polluted air days were reduced to five in 2003 from 141 in 1998. The number of days where there was good air quality climbed to 224 last year from 100 in 1998.