Beijing engulfed in sudden smog on National Day

Smog has blanketed China's capital Beijing as a surge in tourists has hit the capital. Air quality is at its worst.

On October 2, China entered the second day of a long holiday celebrating the country's National Day (October 1). The number of tourists during this time increased dramatically, with the capital Beijing being one of the most popular destinations.

Many tourists to Beijing have to wear masks to protect against toxic smog.

However, the whole city is covered by serious smoke pollution.

Beijing Municipal Government issued a Yellow level air pollution warning today (October 2), which means serious pollution.

This is the first time since early June that Beijing has announced a yellow level of air pollution. The PM2.5 index (ie the index of dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in a cubic meter of air) measured at most locations in the city is above 200, while according to the World Health Organization (WHO), PM2.5 less than 10 is the safe level.

Beijing has been hit by severe air pollution just one day after the country began its National Day holiday from October 1 to 7, also known as the “Golden Week” holiday.

During this time, the number of tourists to Beijing has increased dramatically. The Forbidden City alone welcomed 82,000 visitors on the first day of the holiday, a record high. It is forecast that the number of tourists to Beijing during this year's National Day holiday will increase by 10% compared to the same period last year.

According to statistics from the China National Tourism Administration, on the first day of this year's National Day holiday, 14 million passengers traveled by train, an increase of 12%; while the number of passengers traveling by air also increased to a record high with about 965,000 passengers on October 1.

According to calculations, during the entire 7-day holiday, the number of tourists in China will reach 589 million, an increase of 12% over the same period last year, bringing in revenue of 478 billion yuan (NDT), equivalent to 73.5 billion USD for the country's tourism industry./.

According to VOV