Pollution and dust in Beijing

Being in China for more than a week now, its all been pretty good. The Olympic preparations are pretty impressive as well as extensive. Merchandise sales are red-hot and ticket sales are even hotter. I’ve even seen some of the Swedish soccer team at the marketplace. However, one thing is quite depressing — the pollution here. At first I thought it was smog from the cars and factories, but then I realized there wasn’t actually that much smog. Beijing’s done a pretty good job in controlling that and the city doesn’t smell of smog at all. The stuff thats making the sky really hazy is dust — lots of dust. I’m not sure where the pressure is coming from. Its been really bad the last few days because its been hot and humid as well.

Most of my days here have been overcast days with lots of heat. Those are the worst days. They are sweaty and the visibility is really low. The last two days have been overcast and cool, which is a lot better. Being cooler also seems to have made some of the dust go away. I hope its bright and sunny for the Olympics so the dust is a bit more settled and visibility is high. I’m sure the athletes would appreciate it also. Maybe that guarantee of good weather will do some good — if it can be pulled off.