Second-Ever Beijing Red Alert Dec. 19 Less Than Two Weeks After First

Summary: The Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau issued the second-ever Beijing red alert Dec. 19, less than two weeks after the first red alert.

Beijing's smog on Thursday, Dec. 17, as viewed from Jingshan Hill ("Prospect Hill") in the Imperial City section of central Beijing: Breaking911 @Breaking911, via Twitter Dec. 18, 2015

On Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, the Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau issued the second-ever Beijing red alert, in effect from 7 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, through Tuesday, Dec. 22.

Eleven days separate the first-ever Beijing Red Alert, in effect from Dec. 8 to 10, and the second-ever Beijing Red Alert. The National Meterological Centre’s forecast of extensive smog for the weekend through Tuesday is prompting the second-ever Beijing Red Alert.

The wave of smog is expected to cloak much of northern China with low visibility and chokingly high levels of pollutants. Beijing’s forecast suggests visibility of less than one kilometer (0.6 mile). The density of toxic PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers, is expected to exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter. An indicator of air quality, PM2.5 has a maximum exposure of 25 micrograms per cubic, according to the World Health Organization’s recommendation.

A predicted air quality index of over 200 micrograms lasting for at least three days triggers a red alert, the highest in Beijing’s four-tier air pollution warning system. A red alert reduces Beijing’s massive vehicular traffic by removing around two million private cars from circulation through alternate day, even/odd license plate number restrictions. Outdoor construction is halted. Elementary and secondary schools are recommended to close. Residents are urged to reduce outdoor activities and to remain indoors as much as possible.

When Beijing’s bright blue skies disappear behind stinging smog, the capital city’s residents don masks, often connected to filtered air machines, for necessary outdoor comings and goings. They also rely on air purifiers to aerate indoor areas.

Another product spiking buying frenzies for Beijing’s episodic smog is bottled Canadian air sold by Vitality Air, an Edmonton-based, ecommerce startup founded in 2014. Co-founders Moses Lam and Troy Paquette fulfill their company’s motto of “Enhancing Vitality -- One Breath at a Time” by capturing Alberta’s fresh Rocky Mountain air from Banff and Lake Louise in specially designed, recyclable aluminum bottles. The hand-bottled compression process excludes pollutants, such as chlorofulorocarbons (CFC), and requires ten-hour capture sessions in the Canadian Rockies.

Co-founder Moses Lam explains: “It’s time consuming because every one of these bottles is hand bottled. We’re dealing with fresh air, we want it to be fresh and we don’t want to run it through machines which are oiled and greased.”

An interview on Dec. 17, with Yu Jianhua, chief engineer of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, reveals that the bureau’s lowering of red alert-threshold levels from 300 to 200 micrograms in March and Beijing’s current pollution patterns should trigger two to three red alerts annually.

“Our forecasting capability has improved as the government makes deeper efforts to curb pollution and the technology becomes more advanced,” Yu explains. “The work is long-term and complicated.”

Vitality Air canisters are filled with air from the Rocky Mountain town of Banff in Alberta, western Canada: Vitality Air @vitalityair, via Twitter Dec. 17, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"Beijing Issues Second Ever Pollution Red Alert.": Breaking911 @Breaking911, via Twitter Dec. 18, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/677840535655211008

Vitality Air canisters are filled with air from the Rocky Mountain town of Banff in Alberta, western Canada: Vitality Air @vitalityair, via Twitter Dec. 16, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/vitalityair/status/677354312847114240

For further information:

"Alberta company selling Rocky mountain air online." CTV News > Business. Dec. 11, 2015.
Available @ http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/alberta-company-selling-rocky-mountain-air-online-1.2696616

Bandurski, David. "Smogscape." China Media Project > Comic China. Dec. 6, 2011.
Available @ http://chinamediaproject.org/2011/12/06/smogscape/

"Beijing issues second red alert for heavy smog." Xinhuanet. Dec. 18, 2015.
Available @ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/18/c_134930075.htm

Blanchard, Ben. "China warns of widespread smog, Beijing issues second 'red alert.'" Reuters > Technology. Dec. 18, 2015.
Available @ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN0U102Z20151218

Breaking911 @Breaking911. "Beijing Issues Second Ever Pollution Red Alert." Twitter. Dec. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/677840535655211008

Hunt, Katie. "Canadian start-up sells bottled air to China, says sales booming." CNN > World > Asia. Dec. 16, 2015.
Available @ http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/15/asia/china-canadian-company-selling-clean-air/index.html

Iyengar, Rishi. "Beijing Issues Its Second-Ever Red Alert for Pollution With Widespread Smog Expected." Time > World > China. Dec. 18, 2015.
Available @ http://time.com/4154488/beijing-china-red-alert-pollution-smog/

Marriner, Derdriu. "First-Ever Beijing Red Alert Slows China's Capital on Tuesday, Dec. 8." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/12/first-ever-beijing-red-alert-slows.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Hazardous Air Pollution Levels Trigger Orange Alert for Beijing." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/12/hazardous-air-pollution-levels-trigger.html

Nguyen, Christine, and Devan Joseph. "The smog in China is so bad that people are actually buying bottled air from China." Business Insider. Dec. 17, 2015.
Available @ http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-startup-sells-canned-air-china-2015-12

"Smoggy With a Chance of Disruption: Beijing Issues New Red Alert." Bloomberg > News. Dec. 18, 2015.
Available @ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-18/smoggy-with-a-chance-of-disruption-beijing-issues-new-red-alert

TomoNews US. "Air pollution in China: Air quality is so bad, Canada sells China cans of fresh air - TomoNews." YouTube. Dec. 16, 2015.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xhppHAI7C8

Vitality Air @vitalityair. "Canadian start-up sells bottled air to China, says sales booming." Twitter. Dec. 16, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/vitalityair/status/677354312847114240