NOT a "blue sky" day (蓝天)

I got up this morning and thought, did I miss the apocalypse? Am I the only person left alive in Beijing? The air was such a thick, dense grey, I could not see across the courtyard even to the buildings I knew should be there.

I took the attached pictures out the window at 7 (sun still not completely up) and 8 (sun fully up). After I opened the window for about 15 seconds to take the picture, the outside smell permeated the entire apartment and made me sneeze. It also hasn't gotten any better in the last 4 hours since I've been up.

YUCK. I was planning to go to the Lama Temple today, but if I can't see anything, what's the point? Better to stay inside and protect my lungs.

So why the ick, you ask? A colleague confirms this is unusually disgusting, even for Beijing. I'm sure it's a combination of weather and pollution - although the Weather Channel does not show clouds over Beijing, there is likely some moisture holding the pollution in the city. The weather report does say "fog", but here that often means "smog" anyway. The odor of the air that got into my apartment definitely carried more than a hint of stale firework smoke, but as last night was the 3rd night of Spring Festival and not a particularly firework-heavy night, that can't be the only culprit. We may never know. Meanwhile, enjoy the um, scenery!

By the way, the term "blue sky" day is not mine. The Beijing municipal government (or someone official - perhaps the national govt, I don't know) evaluates each day's conditions. Sunny days with good air quality are labeled 蓝天 "blue sky" days. Days when clouds or pollution occlude the sun are not blue sky days. The government's goal is to increase the number of blue sky days by reducing pollution. They are making progress: there were 241 blue sky days in 2006, up from 234 in 2005 and 100 in 1998. Mind you, there are some days when your, my, and the Chinese government's definition of a blue sky differ greatly, but the intention is definitely there. More in this in an article in the People's Daily Online: http://english.people.com.cn/200701/23/eng20070123_343837.html.