WHO calls Beijing smog a "crisis"

The WHO representative in China on Tuesday described the choking pollution in Beijing as a “crisis” and urged residents in the Chinese capital to stay home and “basically cope with it as much as possible,” Financial Times reported. The Beijing government issued an “amber alert” last Friday and again on Monday, following a week of toxic smog that has consistently averaged more than 16 times the World Health Organisation’s recommended upper limit. The amber alert, issued for the first time since the emergency smog alert system was introduced in October, is the second-highest warning level, although conditions seem to warrant a red alert.