According to an article in The Gaurdian, Beijing released a red alert concerning air pollution in the area. Apparently this is the first red alert the city has ever put out about air pollution. The alert was triggered by incredibly high levels of acrid smog in the city and in a report done my Xinhua (Beijing’s environmental protection agency) they stated that the city’s AQI exceeded dangerous levels of 200 for more than three days which the United States reports as extremely dangerous to one’s health.
As a response to the December 2015 red alert, all schools in Beijiing were temporarily closed as well as any outdoor construction. Moving forward, China does not expect its air quality to return to suitable standards until 2030 says Environmental officials of China. Furthermore, China has decided to discontinue up to 2,500 small polluting firms in 2016