The air quality in Beijing, China is notoriously bad, but it was unspeakably terrible over the weekend.
How bad was the pollution? On a scale of 0-500 (500 being the worst), Beijing hit 755 on Saturday evening. That's not a typo -- Beijing's air was so bad that it shattered the existing scale.
That's according to the Beijing Air Monitor (@BeijingAir), a Twitter account run by the United States Embassy in Beijing that periodically tweets air sampling data from atop the embassy, per the New York Times.
01-12-2013 20:00; PM2.5; 886.0; 755; Beyond Index— BeijingAir (@BeijingAir) January 12, 2013
The air pollution level has since fallen to 152, which the account marks as "Unhealthy" based on Environmental Protection Agency standards.
A number on a scale is one thing, but what does it actually look like to be living in off-the-charts pollution? Bill Bishop, who writes for the Sinocism China Newsletter, tweeted this picture on Saturday:
Photo courtesy of Bill Bishop/Sinocism China Newsletter
The barely-seen object is the China World Trade Center Tower III, a 1,000-plus foot skyscraper that's one of the tallest in Beijing. Here's another picture of it Sunday, after pollution levels dropped somewhat:
Photo courtesy of Bill Bishop/Sinocism China Newsletter
Here's what it might look like on a comparatively normal day (it's the larger building on the left in the background):
Photo courtesy Flickr, bfishadow
What can Beijing do to help reduce its air pollution? What would you do if this were your city? Share in the comments.