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quoms:

geoducks:

climateadaptation:

kateoplis:

Nope, this is not a still from Blade Runner. It’s smog in Beijing. 

Some of my friends in Beijing have said the air burns their eyes and lungs. Here’s a picture of my colleague with his double-barreled air mask. Intense. Note he’s wearing a trash bag to protect his suit from the dirty air when he goes out.

I was reading the other night that the particulate pollution in Beijing is over 600 PPM and has recently climbed in areas to almost 900. The WHO says that 25 PPM is the highest safe level, and the US EPA says over 300 in a US city would be a national crisis. 

Thing is though, much of the smog comes from factories and coal plants which aren’t even in the city, and so in areas outside Beijing may have smog levels that are even higher.

I was having a conversation with friends when I asked when cities will look like Blade Runner and someone said they already do in China

(via hernelille)