Beijing is still covered in heavy pollution. Until it rains or blows for a few days and with some power the wind, the pollution cloud (which some inhabitants want to think of as fog) will remain there, endangering the health of the inhabitants of the Chinese city.
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Half a million masks sold
In addition, half a million masks have been sold in a couple of days . Some have filters of some kind. Few people dare to go out on the streets of Beijing without one of these masks covering their mouth and nose.
The owner of one of the stores that sells these masks has recognized that they do not protect enough against such a high level of contamination. You need a mask that filters the PM 2.5 particles and that covers the mouth well, without any gap.
One of these really effective masks can cost $ 40. On the other hand, the stores do not have many because, at that price, few Chinese buy them. Finally, the filter can last about two weeks … in another era. These days it would have to be changed after two days.
The solution to contamination is not masks . It is to stop burning fossil fuels.
Conclusions
Many of the people who walk the streets of Beijing (actually, the vast majority) wear masks to try to mitigate the effects of pollution on their health. However, are these masks of any use to the finest particles or to such a high level of contamination? Is any type of mask effective or does it have to have some type of filter?
The level of microscopic particles has reached a level of 993 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing these days. It is a level similar to that of a forest fire. Those who are not used to these conditions may feel shortness of breath and stinging in the eyes. As minimum.
The pollution fog in the city center is so thick that you can go days without seeing the sun. Cars are covered by a fine dust that is nothing more than pollution. A store that sells purifiers of air in Beijing these days sells in a day, which normally sells in a month.
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