I was in China about 20 years ago and the smog hung over the cities like a big dirty hat. Driving out of the city, your eyesight would improve 20 points. Now the smog has become so bad, they issued a RED ALERT and kept kids home from school and discouraged people from going out. Like THAT will solve anything. Smog is a type of air pollution which is a type of airborne poison that is particularly toxic to people with lung disease like asthma or emphysema. Can’t be too pleasant living in Beijing at the moment. Here’s hoping the Chinese get their act together and cut back somewhat on burning all the carbon credits that idiots have purchased.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/world/asia/beijing-pollution-red-alert.html?_r=0
Reminds me of the story from this past March about pollution in Paris, and their efforts to combat it by placing restrictions on motorists. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/paris-smog-pollution-emergency-measures-traffic
I think motor vehicles contribute a lot to this phenomenon, but in reality it’s the industrial output in the cities. It’s ridiculous.