Flights cancelled due to thick smog and alarming level pollution in Shanghai

Published on : Saturday, December 7, 2013

Shanghai, the commercial hub of China recorded an alarming level of air pollution on Friday, 6th October 2013, as the city was shrouded by smog. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled and the authorities were forced to issue heath warning of the highest level in the entire city.
Just when China is seeking to build Shanghai into a global business centre at par with London, New York and Hong Kong by 2020, this kind of an incident puts China in an awkward situation.
On Friday afternoon, the Shanghai government issued its severest health warning as the city’s pollution index ranged between 23 times and 31 times the levels recommended by international health officials.
Residents were told to stay indoors by the authorities and asked factories to either cut or halt production. This was the first such advice since a new health warning system was launched in April.
People moved around the city in face masks as the air was thick and there was low visibility. People had to go out to work.
Air quality in cities is of increasing concern to China’s stability-obsessed leaders, anxious to douse potential unrest as more affluent citizens turn against a growth-at-all-costs economic model that has polluted much of the country’s air, water and soil.
The government has announced many plans to fight pollution over the years but has made little apparent progress.
Most of the flights leaving Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport have been delayed, according to the airport’s website. Pudong was the world’s third busiest cargo airport in 2011, data from the Airports Council International shows.
Schools were shut down and some people cancelled outdoor activity in Shanghai. The noxious haze was caused due to several factors such as industrial pollution and auto emissions trapped by cold, windless weather.
The level of PM2.5 particulate matter, or tiny particles in the air that are the most hazardous to health, reached a “severely polluted” 466, at 0700 GMT according to the Shanghai government’s monitoring website. While the U.S. consulate in Shanghai showed a reading of 503, a level described as being beyond the index on its website.
The standard level of pollution recommended by World Health Organization should not be more than 20 on a daily level. The level above 300 is considered hazardous.