Beijing just can't catch a break this holiday season. Just one day after multiple embassies issued warnings of possible threats against Westerners in Sanlitun over Christmas, the city was hit by another nasty round of smog on Christmas Day, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) going above 600 (or "beyond index") in some parts of the city.
The city issued an orange alert — the second highest level — as 227 flights were canceled due to poor visibility. Beijing has already issued two red alerts this month, as well as another orange alert at the end of November.
Meanwhile, Shanghai raised its smog alert level to yellow on Friday, just two days after issuing a blue alert earlier in the week. The AQI reached as high as 275 in some parts of the city.
Around 50 cities issued smog alerts around China on Christmas Day.
Netizens naturally turned to the interwebs to partake in some Christmas-themed smog humor. Here's an image that was circulating on WeChat:
Experts from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) predicted earlier in the month that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area would be hit by at least two to three rounds of smog by the end of the year.
[Images via Straits Times, Shanghai Daily]
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