Beijing air pollution reaches extremely hazardous levels
Beijing is experiencing its worst air pollution this year, with monitoring sites throughout the city reporting extremely hazardous levels of pollutants.
City authorities issued a rare orange alert, the second highest of four danger levels.
Schools suspended outdoor activities and polluting factories were required to reduce production.
The city reported the level of tiny PM2.5 particles in the air to be more than 600 micrograms per cubic metre late on Monday.
The US Embassy in Beijing reported the level to be 625 micrograms per cubic metre at 5pm local time.
The World Health Organisation considers the safe level to be 25 micrograms per cubic meter on a 24-hour average basis.
