The Chinese city of Shijiazhuang experienced concentrations of fine particulate matter responsible for air pollution which were 100 times in excess of World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on Monday. Levels rose to 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to WHO guidelines of no more than an annual average of 10 micrograms. In total, over 40 cities in the northeast of the country issued pollution alerts. AQI readings at some monitoring stations in seven cities in Hebei peaked above 400 on Monday, with Shijiazhuang and two other cities breaking above the 500 limit, Xinhua said. Red alerts, the highest possible warnings in relation to the Air Quality Index, were issued by 22 cities. A man wearing a mask walks past a poster showing China's President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang at a railway station in Beijing September 30, 2014.
The Chinese city of Shijiazhuang experienced concentrations of fine particulate matter responsible for air pollution which were 100 times in excess of World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on Monday. Levels rose to 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to WHO guidelines of no more than an annual average of 10 micrograms. In total, over 40 cities in the northeast of the country issued pollution alerts. Red alerts, the highest possible warnings in relation to the Air Quality Index, were issued by 22 cities. A man wearing a mask walks past a poster showing China's President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang at a railway station in Beijing September 30, 2014.