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Pic: Beijing's Air After 4 Days of Anti-Smog Measures

blog.wired.com — Last week, we reported on how China's herculean efforts to clean up Beijing's air ahead of the Olympics wouldn't work if the weather didn't cooperate. Starting last Sunday, the air-cleaning regimen went into effect. Some trucks were banned from the road, traffic curbs were instituted, regional factories were shut down, and in-city construction wor

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  • 22magnum, on 07/24/2008, -13/+44wow! look at all the SARS
  • vega27, on 07/24/2008, -9/+3mmm sars for everyone!
  • Slovenian6474, on 07/24/2008, -1/+74Great job! You can see a few buildings now!
    • faatbuddha, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Imagine what we'll be able to see in EIGHT days!
  • fstfrk13, on 07/24/2008, -0/+29That's actually not that bad. I was there for a week last summer and from the 30Th floor of our hotel would could only see a block through the smog. I only saw the sun once while i was there and that was an hour out of the city after it rained its completely ridiculous.
  • LongBong, on 07/25/2008, -6/+59looks like my room after a fatty bowl.
    • sump22, on 07/25/2008, -2/+9Clam bake a whole town? Now we're talking :)
    • SDM187, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Good thing you don't live in New Orleans...
    • socialrebel, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1LOL.. now there's an idea
  • InfodivaMLIS, on 07/25/2008, -2/+16ick. ack hack arf
  • chincopanda, on 07/25/2008, -1/+43Investment tip: Solar panels are going to be big in Beijing!!
    • shutaro, on 07/25/2008, -14/+11They can't use solar panels if they don't get any more sun!
      • Yousty, on 07/25/2008, -2/+16You might wanna get your sarcasm detector checked, it doesn't seem to be working.
      • Slade605, on 07/25/2008, -4/+1No worries, they can't use any sarcasm if they can't speak any english!
      • subterfuge, on 07/25/2008, -0/+10BUZZZZZZZZZZKILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
      • beerock, on 07/25/2008, -2/+2Solar-powered DoucheBags are where it is at, highly recommended investment
      • FeloniusMonkey, on 07/25/2008, -0/+11Dear Sir,

        Please add me to your mailing list for future discovery bulletins like this one.
    • ISIfunded911, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2I was surprised when I recently learned that China is the country with the largest installed base of solar panels.
  • xsecretfiles, on 07/25/2008, -5/+3*****
  • greenroom628, on 07/25/2008, -1/+17i wonder what would happen if 1.3 billion chinese people blew at the same time....
    • Fullvinyl, on 07/25/2008, -0/+27I'm sure some porn producer has thought the exact same thing at one time or another...
    • fety, on 07/25/2008, -6/+4blew what?
    • freezerburn666, on 07/25/2008, -9/+51.3 billion chinese girls blowing me.. yessss
      • DemonWasp, on 07/25/2008, -3/+1The average human mouth has 28 teeth (depending on whether you still have your wisdom teeth or not). Enjoy those 36.4 billion teeth.
  • barstegry, on 07/25/2008, -3/+1In with the good
    Out with the bad....

    ahhhhh, that's better
    • djholybolt, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2*COUGH**HACK**COUGH*

      ***** that! This isn't good!
  • Bmarofsky, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8The avg API for the last month was 77, now its 113! Fail!
    http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/
    • lava, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4What's wrong with that? it seems to me like they're exposing more functionality.

      Wait, what?
  • sump22, on 07/25/2008, -1/+23I feel bad for anyone that has to run more than 100M in that crap.
  • samimnot, on 07/25/2008, -13/+3hmmm...sort of looks like Los Angeles, the last time I was there.
    • notoneofus, on 07/25/2008, -0/+15Was that in the 70s?
      • samimnot, on 07/25/2008, -1/+0Yes...I've been to LA in the 70's. Also in the 80's, 90's as well as 3 yrs. ago. If you're point is that the air quality was worse then, I agree. And its still incredibly poor, now...But while my comment was somewhat on the sarcastic side, I will propose that the reason the rest of the world considers us hypocritical, is because we tend to complain about "their" problems, while we disregard our similar situations at home. As per the original article.
      • notoneofus, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1@samimnot: Of course my point is that air quality was worse in the 70s. Way, way worse. It's still poor, but not incredibly poor. It's no longer an extreme, daily health hazard.

        Beijing on bad days now is like LA on bad days in the 70s. It's not *always* like that photo in Beijing, but it's pretty horrendous.

        I don't think we're being hypocritical. We're saying: here's what we were like 30 years ago, and we've cleaned up. We still have a long way to go. Here's what you are like now, Beijing, and you have to start working on it to get better. I certainly don't expect Beijing to have perfect, clear skies anytime soon. But I do expect them to have LA skies in 20-30 years.
    • waxenpi, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2the only way to really notice la's smog is if you're far away from the city to see it as a whole.
      • samimnot, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0True, but are you suggesting that if you're in the city, it's "not" there?
      • notoneofus, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1@samimnot: Not to the extent it is in Beijing (or Wuhan, Shenzhen, Bangkok, Jakarta, etc.).
  • PGPirate, on 07/25/2008, -9/+1Hurry, think of a witty Chinese/smog statement to get alotta diggs........
  • sizzzzlerz, on 07/25/2008, -8/+3Yum! I smell kung pao!
  • vdogg89, on 07/25/2008, -2/+5maybe it was a cloudy day
  • Slade605, on 07/25/2008, -2/+5You'll need more than wall hax to see through that on a bad day.
    • djholybolt, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1no hax can help you in that *****, maybe aimbot but you're still sorta screwed.
  • nullcodes, on 07/25/2008, -1/+8Gold medal, for smog.
  • rodon, on 07/25/2008, -2/+53Someone remind me why the hell the IOC chose Beijing again?
  • altgeeky1, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7If you get all the locals to hyperventilate, the air would be filtered.
    • Rahodeb, on 07/25/2008, -1/+5I wouldn't put it past the government to make that a mandate.
  • nullcodes, on 07/25/2008, -1/+9Actually though .. is it smog or is it fog? Also .. can we have a pic of how much smog is visible when you're at ground level.
    • trogdor282, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Definitely smog. It's basically always like that in every major city. My chinese coworker tells me the only time you can see sunlight is right after the rain.
      • EntangledPhysx, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1That's sad
      • DemonWasp, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2That sounds like it could lead to some long-term psychological problems.

        Of course, the black lung will get you first.
  • Clydesdale, on 07/25/2008, -1/+19I hear a lot of athletes have already dropped out because of the air quality problem....I suspect China is in for an embarrassing, huge bucket of fail with these Olympics.
  • mrzeero, on 07/25/2008, -3/+13That is why so many people smoke in Beijing. The smoke out of the cigarette is actually cleaner than just breathing the air.
    • mttyd, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3That doesn't even make sense.
      • djholybolt, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1he's saying that the smoke inhalation is better than the smog! And the cigs have a filter. Sense of humor, much?
    • FlyingSpaghetti, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6Maybe the filters in the cigarettes make it better?
    • BossKey, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1That's like the story the other day where people were saying that allowing smoking in bars was a feature because it covers up the patrons' BO, instead of having everyone take showers and not smoke.
  • jserio, on 07/25/2008, -2/+3Nothing like losing a few years off your life in order to see the Olympics. Maybe they can hand out face masks to everyone in attendance?
    • djholybolt, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1And some forms to file lawsuits for being a public endangerment due to toxicity levels? perhaps?
  • loringalta, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6When I went to China, my friends and I use to joke about the horrible air quality.

    "OMG, a spot of blue! A miracle!"

    Hopefully Beijing will be able to clean up its air, though it seems far away right now. I know my parents are horribly proud that Beijing was chosen to host the Olympics. My mother was crying after it was announced and told me that Beijing had come a long way from the its poor roots.

    But it seems as if the air is still the same. Here's to hoping things will shape up soon.
  • beerock, on 07/25/2008, -1/+2Let's blame the Russian team
  • Johnkerry04, on 07/25/2008, -0/+28Check out http://www.smog2008.blogspot.com/
    Daily smog updates w/ pics
    • CedEx, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Actually... it seems that on the weekends, the skies look normal.
    • Virgule, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1last update is from July 18th?
    • xaxa1, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0Nice blog! At least we get a better perspective of the smog problem than the occasional cropped photo.
  • kevinisnthere, on 07/25/2008, -1/+4Does anybody have a "before" picture to compare with?
  • bengrg, on 07/25/2008, -12/+3when red Chinese troops leave Tibet, Chinese people will finally gain their freedom

    end the Chinese communist dictatorship.
    • BadAssFlip, on 07/25/2008, -1/+4First of all, modern China is no longer 'communist' in many ways - for example, there are widespread tuition charges for education ( for middle school and below), people have to pay for their own health care, etc., etc. - these are certainly not very "socialist" or communist ideas.

      So when people in non-Chinese countries are making pronouncements about "Communist China", or "Red China" they are generally doing it for one of 3 reasons (sometimes for a combination of 2 or more of them):

      1- they are woefully ignorant of the changes that have taken place in China since the end of the Cultural Revolution

      2- they are simply trying to invoke a mass hysteria that was well planted in the mind of many western countries during the 1950s and 60s and manipulate the listeners by pulling on emotional links. --- the cold war between NATO and the Soviet Union = the red scare, and the Korean Conflict where fear of the "yellow menace" was publicly voiced, and the VietNam war (originally a war of liberation by the VietNamese against colonial French) was taken up as a war against the spread of communism by the USA on behalf of "free people" everywhere.

      3- they themselves are still controlled by the mass hysteria that was well planted in the 50s and 60s... maybe the "seed" was passed down to them from a previous generation, or maybe they have had it growing in their hearts and minds for a long time and it is impossible to root it out.
      • wastelander, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Somehow they seem to have managed to combine the worst from Communism with the worst from capitalism.
      • djholybolt, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1That... really wasn't necessary. A simple 'off topic' reply would have been great.
  • howittsdone, on 07/25/2008, -1/+5How about a before and after shot?
  • Wagnel, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3That's not so bad. I was in Beijing the entire month of April and saw several days with visibility much worse than that.
  • beingdevious, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3whats with the "translucent/transparent" comments. jeeze. is there nothing better to argue about?
  • forgottenhope, on 07/25/2008, -9/+2clean up for the show. the olympics are a joke. in a country whos greatest asset is child/slave labor, the world will come together and not give a ***** while the high profile athletes who otherwise wouldnt have a job, run circles and swin in lapse.

    Slave labor is the wave of the future. Most local governments are making arrangments to eliminate city jobs for inmate labor.

    Soon fema will be in charge of the "detention centers" and they will herd people around like cattle.

    Its too late to care, but not late enough for another year of ***** and ill promises.

    What is on americas dinner plate? War torture, spying on its citizens and a president and congress who think its ok.

    I have two words for the establishment.

    ***** YOU.
    • schnikies79, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3Shut up.
    • Rahodeb, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Sounds like "The Establishment" in your world is every government on the planet. Maybe you should give anarchy a try, Africa is experimenting with it and it going very well.
  • FeloniusMonkey, on 07/25/2008, -4/+11How are they going to keep the Mongorians from stearing all their ***** shmog?
    • notthatnoise, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4stupid mongorians always twying to knock down my wawl
    • BossKey, on 07/25/2008, -0/+5stoopid Westurners arways twying to wooin my city Orympics!
  • viciv, on 07/25/2008, -1/+2the air is actually not that bad these few days.. although it's extremely hot here in beijing..
  • fety, on 07/25/2008, -3/+7...and HOW are olympians supposed to compete breathing in that *****?
  • RichG13, on 07/25/2008, -1/+2I say ***** "“assorted rice pudding" and his crony "eight treasures rice pudding" for their smog!
  • karmaghost, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1I wonder whose job it was to give all the blow-jobs to the Olympic Committee to have them choose China as a good place to have the Olympics. Give that man a raise!
  • Paranoidmarvin, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1Haha, I hope we won't have the same problem in 2012 in London
    • ChayD, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Seems okay today; I can see Canary Wharf and the O2 quite clearly from our car park[ing lot], plus some blue sky up there, too.
  • beesaretasty, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3I can't wait to watch someone running a marathon with a mask on his/her face.

    Just kidding. They don't show that crap on TV. It's all gymnastics all the time.
  • serif69, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7OK, so they've known for how long that the Olympics would be held in Beijing, and they just implemented an air cleaning policy ON SUNDAY?!
    Now if you'll excuse me, I have company coming in 30 seconds and I have to vacuum the entire house.
  • duckyinc, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3The air sucks but for 4 days or work it's not bad
  • Cashmoney504, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3Looks terrible.
  • 1337squirrel, on 07/25/2008, -1/+6I spent a month in Beijing back in '98, and for over a week after I left, my nose boogies were BLACK from all the soot in the air. In addition to all of vehicle pollution, I think a lot of people have to burn coal for heat/cooking/electricity. Heat is obviously not a problem at this time of year, but the other reasons, well, dunno.
  • jstancom, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3China cannot keep up this level of rampant development up for long. China is the world's number one polluter. Soon people will be getting sick and possibly cancer cases may rise dramatically due to the level of pollution if they aren't already. There will be an eventual plateau of Chinese development because they are not considering the welfare and health of the public and the environment.
  • thepixelsuite, on 07/25/2008, -1/+2Looks like a fun place to run a marathon or participate in track and field events
  • slaverynin, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3man, that's just crazy you would have figured they would have tried to fix this years before the olympics not weeks.
  • Seemefearme, on 07/25/2008, -2/+1What a disgusting state of affairs.
  • Darkangel754, on 07/25/2008, -1/+5I haven't seen this much fog since the last time I played Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2.
  • NetDom, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1I fear for the olympians
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