Public anger in China at dangerous levels of air pollution, which blanketed Beijing in acrid smog, has spread as state media editorials questioned official transparency and the nation’s robust development. State media on Monday joined internet users in calling for a re-evaluation of China’s modernisation process, which has seen rapid urbanisation and economic development achieved at the expense of the environment. Dense smog shrouded large swathes of northern China at the weekend, cutting visibility to 100 metres in some areas and forcing flight cancellations. Reports said dozens of building sites and a car factory in the capital halted work as an anti-pollution measure. Beijing authorities said readings for PM2.5 – particles small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs – hit 993 micrograms per cubic metre at the height of the pollution, almost 40 times the World Health Organisation’s safe limit. Experts quoted by state media blamed low winds for the phenomenon, saying fog had mixed with pollutants from vehicles and factories and been trapped by mountains north and west of Beijing. Coal burning in winter was also a factor, they added.
