Thick Smog over Beijing, China

Thick pollution obscured the sky over Beijing and nearby regions on November 4, 2005. According to news reports, the city's pollution index reached the highest level on the scale between November 4-5, and residents were warned to spend as little time as possible outdoors.

Children, elderly, and those with respiratory conditions were cautioned to be especially careful.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying onboard the Terra satellite captured this image on November 4 as pollutants lingered over the area. In this image, a nearly opaque band of gray smog obscures the view of Beijing and the region to the south.

Whiter clouds lie over the smog in the lower portion of the scene, while nearer to the top center of the scene, the haze appears to be hovering above a strip of fog. The rugged mountains that encircle the eastern coastal plain appear to be hemming in the haze, which spreads out in tendrils into the folds of the mountains to the north and west.

Various weather conditions can contribute to a pile-up of pollution, including high pressure, high humidity, and large pools of cold air settling near the Earth's surface. Most of the time, atmospheric temperatures decreases as altitude increases, and warmer air near the surface rises upward, mixing pollution away.

Occasionally, the atmopshere's temperature profile can become inverted, with cold air near the surface and warm air higher up. The cold air is less buoyant, and pollution doesn't disperse. One or more of these meteorological conditions may have played a role in the poor air quality over Beijing at the end of the first week of November.

As China industrializes at a record pace, air pollution problems, including acid rain and premature deaths due to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, will continue to be a challenge for the country. According to an article published on October 30, 2005, on NYT.com, acid rain affects 33 percent of China's citizens.

And the scientific journal Nature published an article in June 2005 indicating that perhaps as many as 75 percent of China's city dwellers live below the country's acceptable air-quality standard. Second only to the United States in the production of greenhouse gases, China could surpass the United States in the near future as its coal-powered economy continues to grow.

Copyright 2005 by Space Daily, Distributed United Press International

Related stories:

Asian soot, smog may boost global warming in US
(AP) -- Smog, soot and other particles like the kind often seen hanging over Beijing add to global warming and may raise summer temperatures in the American heartland by three degrees in about 50 years, says a new federal science report released Thursday.
Smoke smudges Mexico City's air, chemists identify sources
Mexico City once topped lists of places with the worst air pollution in the world. Although efforts to curb emissions have improved the situation, tiny particles called aerosols still clog the air. Now, atmospheric scientists from UC San Diego and six other institutions have sorted through the pall that hangs over the city to precisely identify aerosols that make up the haze and chart daily patterns of changes to the mix.
Wireless sensors learn from life
(PhysOrg.com) -- European and Indian researchers are applying principles learned from living organisms to design self-organising networks of wireless sensors suitable for a wide range of environmental monitoring purposes.
Greenland ice core reveals history of pollution in the Arctic
New research, reported this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that coal burning, primarily in North America and Europe, contaminated the Arctic and potentially affected human health and ecosystems in and around Earth's polar regions.
Dirty smoke from ships found to degrade air quality in coastal cities
Ah, nothing like breathing clean coastal air, right? Think again. Chemists at UC San Diego have measured for the first time the impact that dirty smoke from ships cruising at sea and generating electricity in port can have on the air quality of coastal cities.
Many US public schools in 'air pollution danger zone'
One in three U.S. public schools are in the "air pollution danger zone," according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC). UC researchers have found that more than 30 percent of American public schools are within 400 meters, or a quarter mile, of major highways that consistently serve as main truck and traffic routes.
Newly detected air pollutant mimics damaging effects of cigarette smoke
A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, Louisiana scientists are reporting in a study scheduled for presentation today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette, they added.
'Toxic Tour' takes in Los Angeles' dirty little secrets
Whether you want to see the multi-million dollar home of a Hollywood celebrity or the scene of an infamous crime, Los Angeles has a guided tour to suit almost every taste.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news