Archive for February 4th, 2013

Credit: Curt Carnemark / World Bank.

By now, you have probably seen terrifying images of the catastrophic air pollution that has plagued Beijing, China, in recent weeks. Report after report has shown apocalyptic images of the city blanketed with clouds of pollution, snarled traffic due to low visibility and distressed citizens protecting themselves with face masks (see this lovely gallery from The Atlantic). Doctors in Beijing reported increases in hospital emissions for respiratory complaints, especially among children. Two Chinese software companies that develop smartphone apps for monitoring pollution exposure reported huge spikes in their downloads. Read the rest of this entry »