i got it back this week air cleaner compressed into a box from the last move with the yogurt maker and the collection of CDs. In vain: my model was discontinued four years ago and there are no filters on the market. This the last sandstorm gave Beijing back to itself dystopian history of masks and the cloudy sky that looked like it had been taken over.
Sandstorms are coming spring. they are born Gobi Desert, bordering Mongolia and covering a dozen Chinese provinces this week. They were routine ten years ago, and they no longer are. Strong afforestation in the northern half. The air currents of global warming pushed them back. They leave an earthy aftertaste on the palate and leave post-apocalyptic photos with a grayish haze and a ubiquitous orange veil.
old and new
This week, strictly speaking, there was no contamination. Abundant in sandstorms PM10 particles unlike PM2.5 produced by jobs, coal plants and other human activities. They are 30 times smaller in diameter than a human hair and can filter into the lungs and bloodstream. We, veterans versed in vague scientific jargon, make this clear to newbies.
There is no topic that better defines one than the other. A colleague hinted at him to cancel an appointment. river walk and I saw a virgin horizon. He uneasily explained that the mobile app showed a level of over 100 (a microgram concentration per cubic meter of particles). With higher levels, marathons have been run before.
At the turn of the millennium many thought that the climatic and geographical factors of the capital formed its structure. grayish haze. It even had charm. This american embassy In 2006 they put a pollution meter on their roof and got them off the hook. The city cleared the sky for him 2008 Olympic history and after that a slow but inexorable deterioration began.
Pollution dictated daily life for the Pekingese at that time. After waking up, we reflexively checked the level on the mobile phone and planned the day: bike Or Subway, gym or sofa, office or home… We distributed air purifiers in the rooms and we got used to the mask long before covid. Inside lead daysAt elevations above 500, we could not distinguish buildings at fifty meters. LMultinational companies offer salary bonuses for pollution and scientific studies have confirmed the risks. Life expectancy in the north was 5.5 years shorter because burning coal, pollution caused 1.2 million deaths a year, and a day in the fog was the equivalent of smoking a few packs of tobacco. A couple of Chinese academies have concluded that Beijing is “barely fit” for life.
Authorities then counted the ‘blue days’. they established five levels and that’s what they called the shortest two. It was an optimistic benchmark and had no international validity, so the official count was met with jokes when Beijing announced improvements and the weather tended to be solid. True blue days were so rare that social networks sky pictures.
By accepting pollution as normal, we looked for hope in the calendar. A international Summit, a National People’s Assembly or a Party Congress, a military parade… any action that requires painting the sky with a blue roller. Beijing has halted traffic and industry, even in neighboring provinces. If all else fails, I would apply artificial rain. It made a fuss in the scientific community, but never in Pekingese. Hundreds of rockets loaded with silver iodide aiming for clouds takes away the romance of a spring storm, but such things seem trivial if you haven’t been outside in days.
HE environmental deviation The best news from China in decades. It declared war on pollution, fought fiercely and surrendered to the environment. India witness of ecological catastrophe. Beijing skies are not always clear, but pollution is manageable, does not disturb daily life, and crises are extraordinary. Storms had already carried the sand on Wednesday. The old men used their supple bodies like bamboo this morning. Houhai Lake shoreran around the zagalería in front drum tower and my air purifier is back in the box. The raging storm was an opportunity to explain what old Beijing was like to those who had locked up in their homes for a bit of land this week.