Smog returns across north days after China claims progress in winter pollution campaign
Air quality readings above 400 mark in Shanxi and well over level considered harmful to health in other cities in the region
Smog blanketing northern China has pushed air quality readings in Shanxi province well past the level deemed hazardous to health.
By noon on Monday, the air quality index for the city of Linfen had shot up to 428, according to the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre’s real-time data.
The number refers to the concentration of small, breathable and toxic particles known as PM2.5. Smog levels above 300 are considered dangerous and the scale tops out at 500.
Elsewhere in the north, the index for the city of Anyang in Henan province reached 388 on Monday, while Weinan in Shaanxi hit 384 and Handan in Hebei was 382.
It said levels of PM2.5 in Beijing, Tianjin and 26 other cities in the northern region had declined by 33.1 per cent between October and December from a year earlier.