Chinese air pollution hits record levels

Last week, Beijing experienced its worst pollution reading since the air quality monitor was installed in the US embassy in 2008, sparking fears among the country's citizens and government.

Indeed, the country has long been known for downplaying the levels of pollution in the area.

However, China now has to act, as the levels of noxious atmospheric pollution are far above the recommendations.

In fact, air pollution levels in Beijing reached 755 on an index that measures particulate matter in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers this weekend.

A level of 300 is considered dangerous while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20.

The pollution levels were so bad that Chinese authorities instructed people to stay indoors.

Other people went out to buy face masks to protect themselves, although they were met with a thick smog when they went outside.

The wave of pollution peaked on Saturday and is still not fully over.

The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, was outraged by the levels of air pollution.

"How can we get out of this suffocating siege of pollution?" it said.

"Let us clearly view managing environmental pollution with a sense of urgency."

The Global Times newspaper said the foul air "shocked locals ... triggering calls from the public to shift the country's development model away from the previous fixation on economic growth".

The China Daily blamed Beijing's tall buildings for trapping the pollution. "The high-rises are too densely built and block the dirty air from dispersing," it said.

People took to social media to complain about the levels of pollution and to ask what is going to be done about the issue.