China's air pollution crisis

Air quality in Beijing, a city of around 20 million people, has mostly stayed above "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels since the beginning of this year. Thick, off-the-scale smog shrouds eastern China, forcing airlines to cancel flights because of poor visibility and prompting Beijing to temporarily shut factories and curtail fleets of government cars.

Gallery View:China's air pollution crisis
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  1. Household garbage is burned in an open air garbage room in Beijing
  2. A woman wearing a plastic bag over her head rides along a street against wind on a hazy day in Taiyuan
  3. A Chinese national flag flies in front of Beijing Telegraph Building on a hazy morning in central Beijing
  4. Panda statues are seen in front of buildings on a hazy day in Beijing
  5. Artist Matt Hope, wearing a helmet, pushes his air filtration bike near his studio on a hazy day in Beijing
  6. A man wears a mask on Tiananmen Square in thick haze in Beijing Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Extremely high pollution levels shrouded eastern China for the second time in about two weeks Tuesday, forcing a
  7. A man wearing a mask walks on a stone bridge in a park on a hazy day in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Beijing schools kept children indoors and hospitals saw a spike in respiratory cases Mond
  8. People visit a park near the Military Museum, seen in background, on a hazy day in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Beijing schools kept children indoors and hospitals saw a spike in respiratory
  9. A man walks on an frozen lake on a hazy day in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Beijing schools kept children indoors and hospitals saw a spike in respiratory cases Monday following a weekend of
  10. A woman wears a mask while walking in a park near the China Central Television Tower, background, on a hazy day in Beijing, China, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. Beijing schools kept children indoors and hosp
  11. Skyscrapers are obscure by heavy haze in Beijing Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing
  12. Visitors gather near an entrance to the Forbidden city during a very hazy day in Beijing Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing
  13. A woman wears a mask as she visits Tiananmen Square in Beijing Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing
  14. China air pollution
  15. China air pollution