The city of Shanghai faced record levels of smog, which led to flight cancellations on Friday, December 6, 2013. The current situation also led to shortages of face masks, which is causing many foreigners to reconsider their long-term plans of staying in Shanghai.
Tom Duvalier from Chicago said, “It’s horrifying. I’ve never seen anything like this. I feel like I’ve had a constant hangover for four days. If you go down into the subway system, the same smell is in the air. It’s everywhere.” The Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center measured the air quality index, which stood at 482, starting from 6 pm. Meanwhile, the US consulate stated it was at 503 at 2 pm. If the index levels are above 300, then the situation is considered to be hazardous.
This represents the highest pollution level recorded ever since the city installed the measuring system in December 2012. The smog in Shanghai has been caused by a severe pollution which also affected Beijing and Harbin in Heilongjiang province in the last couple of months.
People all over the city are talking about pollution and are asking if it is cancerous and everyone is reminded to wear masks and take precautions by not taking babies outside.
Photo Credits: BusinessInsider
