A time-lapse video shows the extent of China’s pollution problem as a wall of smog quickly engulfs a portion of the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The video condenses 20 minutes into 12 seconds and was recorded on Monday by British national Chas Pope from what appears to be inside a skyscraper overlooking a busy highway.
Pope’s video shows the smog rolling over the highway towards his vantage point, reducing the visibility down to near zero.
READ MORE: ‘Smog free’ tourism is booming in Beijing as residents deal with record pollution levels
Speaking with British newspaper The Guardian the expat said the smog is a downside of living in Beijing.
“It gets you down especially in recent winters when it seems to have been getting worse,” Pope said.
According to Reuters news agency, hundreds of flights were cancelled and highways closed as the air quality index sky rocketed over 500 micrograms per cubic metre.
As the South China Morning Post points out, smog levels above 300 micrograms per cubic metre are deemed hazardous to health according to World Air Quality Index. Smog levels in Canada on Tuesday, according to the World Air Quality Index, hovered around 20 in Toronto, 50 in Montreal, and 20 in Vancouver.
READ MORE: Smog engulfs cities in northern China for fourth day
On Tuesday, Beijing remained under an orange smog alert, the second highest alert rating as officials said air quality was improving overall.
According to Reuters, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau told China’s state media the city had 198 “blue sky days” in 2016, up 12 days from 2015.
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