Beijing is still covered in heavy pollution. Until it rains or blows for a few days and with some power the wind, the cloud of pollution (which some residents want to think of as fog) will still be there, endangering the health of the Chinese city dwellers.
Half a million masks sold
In addition, half a million masks in a couple of days. Some have filters of some kind. Few people dare to go out at streets from Beijing without one of these masks covering their mouth and nose.
The owner of one of the stores that sells these masks has recognized that they do not protect enough against such a high level of contamination. You need a mask that filters the PM 2.5 particles and that covers the mouth well, without any gap.
One of these really effective masks can cost $ 40. On the other hand, the stores do not have many because, at that price, few Chinese buy them. Finally, the filter can last about two weeks…. in another time. These days it would have to be changed after two days.
The solution to pollution it is not the masks. It is to stop burning fossil fuels.
Conclusions.
Many of the people who walk the Beijing streets (Actually, the vast majority) use masks to try to mitigate the effects of pollution on their health. However, are these masks of any use to the finest particles or to such a high level of contamination? Is any type of mask effective or should it have some type of filter?
The level of microscopic particles in Beijing these days it has reached a level of 993 micrograms per cubic meter. It is a level similar to that of a forest fire. Those who are not used to these conditions may feel shortness of breath and stinging in the eyes. As minimum.
The pollution fog in the city center is so thick that you can go days without seeing the sun. Cars are covered by a fine dust that is nothing more than pollution. A store that sells purifiers from air in BeijingThese days he sells, in one day, what he normally sells in a month.
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