News Digest

Beijing marathoners don face masks to battle smog

Despite heavy pollution blanketing Beijing on Sunday, the 34th Beijing International Marathon went ahead – with face masks and sponges among the equipment used by competitors to battle the smog. About 30,000 people were expected to take part in the marathon and the half-marathon. The organizing committee made 140,000 sponges available at supply stations along the marathon route so runners could “clean their skin that is exposed to the air,” the Beijing News reported. China’s pollution is notorious following years of rapid economic development.

There might be slight or moderate smog.

Beijing International Marathon organizer on Saturday night

The air Sunday was deemed severely polluted, according to the real-time monitoring of Beijing’s environmental center. It was the most serious level on China’s air quality index, and came with a warning for children, the elderly and the sick to stay indoors, and for everyone to avoid outdoor activities. The U.S. Embassy, which tracks the Beijing air from a monitoring station on its roof and uses a different air quality index, said the air was hazardous. It gave a reading of 344 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 particulate matter. The WHO considers 25 micrograms within a 24-hour period a safe level.