The evening sun saw Nanjing city, the capital of Jiangsu Province covered for the first time in a red-hued blanket of smog, but experts said there is no need to panic, Modern Express reports.
After seeing the ruddy haze hanging above the skyline, one netizen quipped ominously on Weibo that, “It’s the first time I ever breathed in rose-colored smog.”
It is understood that the reddish color of the smog was influenced by the sunset’s glow, rather than some kind of special pollutant particles, so there is no need to panic, said Liu Hongnian, professor of Atmospheric Science at Nanjing University.
Nanjing’s real-time PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) yesterday afternoon registered 221, far exceeding safe levels and indicating severe airborne pollution, and prompted the city to issue its first blue alert for air pollution this winter.
More worrying, according to environmental protection and meteorological departments, these severe levels of pollution are not expected to diminish quickly.
Local governments called for residents to take protective measures and urged more efforts from factories to cut pollutant emissions.
In the meantime, schools in Nanjing were forced to suspend outdoor exercises after the record levels of air pollution.
