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| low visibility at PKX airport |
In the taxi to downtown, I saw the same low hanging shroud again along the wide expressway. Chatting with the taxi driver, I commented that it was a bad day for air quality, the taxi driver replied that it was like that every day.
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| Highway out of PKX |
Later that day, we walked in the community park by the hotel we stayed, haze and smog surrounded us as well. Beijing's notorious smog was upon us.
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| CCTV tower in a haze |
Lucky for us, we only experienced the haze and smog for only one day. Overnight drizzle and wind swept away the gloomy smog that had shrouded the city, and we had beautiful sunny days during the rest of our stay at Beijing.
But the smog started its come back on the day I left Beijing from DPX.
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| Smog forming around Beijing |
My flight from Beijing to Wuhan was a mid-day flight, and I had a window seat, I saw the low hanging shrouds even far away from major cities. I was not sure if those were smog and haze, or just thin cloud until I saw clouds in the sky above the smog.
The smog and haze was not concentrated around a single major city, it stretched over thousands of kilometers from Beijing to Wuhan.
The air quality and visibility was not as bad at Wuhan as my first day at Beijing. I was lucky again, the smog dissipated next day, and the weather and air quality remained good during my stay at Wuhan until my last day there.
On my way to WHU for departure, it was drizzling, so the depressing shroud was more haze than smog.
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| The smog seen from Tianhe International Airport (WUH) |
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| The haze on my way leaving Wuhan |
According to Wikipedia, "Haze often occurs when suspended dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat if excessively inhaled. Industrial pollution can result in dense haze, which is known as smog."
Both Beijing and Wuhan have many cars, and are in constant traffic jam during day time. The smog and haze are mainly due to vehicle emissions. To combat the air quality issues, both cities have measures to control traffic such as limiting number of cars on the road by limiting road access to certain license plate numbers
Both cities also have good public transportation, subways and buses.
Despite all the efforts, the severe air pollution persists, the curse of industrialization and modernization.
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A contrast
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| heavy smog |
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| light haze |
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