You can't always see pollution and what you see is not always pollution.

....and fog, which is common this time of year, isn't pollution in and of itself but traps pollution near the ground

Exactly my point. Fog is frequent in Beijing.

Absolute stinker today with sone areas in town clocking over 400. There seems to be some sort of wind tunnel concentrated on my road and the air is often better than in adjoining areas. Is this some sort of weird phenomenon anyone has noticed elsewhere?

Ugh. So excited to go in two weeks: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/wo...red-alert.html

I arrived in Chengdu two days ago, and shortly thereafter felt that slightly tingly sensation in the lungs that is the telltale sign of particulates pollution. Within six hours I began coughing. :td: The 24 hour convenience store around the corner only had women's facemask in stock, but I didn't care. I wanted to filter off as much of this crap air right away. I understand that our sensitivities are different; Local Chengduers seem oblivious to this, yet so many people are walking around with a cough, or worse yet, constant and loud expellings of phlegm.

I have found this app for my iphone useful for monitoring air quality: CHINA AIR QUALITY INDEX

Xinhua is reporting red flag warning for virtually the entire northern half of the country. I can't imagine how bad it is in Beijing, considering that Chengdu is currently officially reported as "lightly polluted," "Workout Suitable." :eek::td:

Joy for the red alert in Beijing today. I think we're going to escape meetings this afternoon and go to the National Museum. Glad I brought my respirator mask:D

Beijing Air (Embassy twitter account) says PM237 at 0800 today.....

The air is bad today, but not as bad as last week so far. I think the red alert is a face saving exercise after last weeks debacle (Ironic I know).

@NYC rachel from what I hear you should be 'OK' in a couple of weeks. I would expect a bad January as they ramp up production before the Spring Fesitval break, unless that is what they have been doing now, and we will be in for a pleasant couple of months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/wo...=top-news&_r=0

Hopefully there are clear skies when I arrive on Wednesday? lol

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
They have a hope machine in Tiananmen Square.


http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1568813/original.jpg

I will be headed from the USA to Guilin and Chengdu in about 3 weeks. I am thinking that it might be smart to bring some kind of mask to filter out the pollution but am not sure what would be the best thing. Are there any suggestions on the type or brand of mask ?

Thank you

Why do you think you need a mask in Chengdu and Guilin?

3M produces a variety of disposable N95 masks, try to get one geared for particulates rather than just fumes. Try local drug stores or home improvement stores. They also make N99 and N100 but that might be a bit overkill. If it will make you feel more prepared, maybe take just a few masks if you're only in China for a short time. Usually you can reuse them for a day or so then discard. You might find you don't need them at all.

Guilin normally doesn't have much of a pollution problem compared to most Chinese cities, but Chengdu definitely can have. http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.c...-monitor4.html Currently Chengdu's air isn't too bad (PM2.5 below 200) especially for short-timers, and it's not at a level where I personally would wear a mask, but at time of the poster's upcoming trip, it could be worse.

The poster above recently commented on how the air in Chengdu caused throat irritation and coughing. A few years ago I was in Taipei and experienced this; my throat became very irritated as if I was surrounded by smokers all of the time. Since then I have also been diagnosed with asthma. I want to avoid ill effects of pollution if I can.

This was interesting information. I was just curious as to your reasons and I must admit that I hadn't imagined that Chengdu has any significant issues. Hope you have a good trip !