Beijing Issues First-Ever Red Alert for Poisonous Smog, Closing Schools and Businesses

The Chinese capital of Beijing is entering shutdown mode after issuing its first-ever "red alert" due to the city’s increasingly problematic presence of smog. The move marks the first time that a red alert, the highest possible caution level, has been declared in the region. Schools, businesses, and construction will promptly cease operations until the alert is downgraded, reports the Independent.

Some construction efforts and other industries had already paused operations due to Beijing's recent "orange alert" declaration, with citizens already feeling the impact thanks to a ruling that declared cars with even and odd numbered registration plates would be stopped from driving on alternate days. As for the current status of the area’s consistent smog problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers anything over 25 micrograms of poisonous particles per cubic meter to be "unsafe." By comparison, Beijing’s air pollution monitors recorded an astounding 256 micrograms.

"The city is blanketed in a thick, choking smog that has covered an area of North China the size of Spain and Beijing’s most famous landmarks have been completely obscured by the yellow haze," Greenpeace’s Zhang Kai wrote in a recent blog post calling for the red alert. "At this level of response, schools and kindergartens can remain open, meaning that children are risking their health in order to attend class and car emissions haven’t been restricted at all."

The red alert status begins Tuesday morning and is set to end "mid-day" on Thursday, at which point weather predictions assert the smog will be greatly diminished.