While world leaders discussed climate change and air pollution in Paris on Monday, residents of Beijing were breathing in thick smog and encouraged by the government to stay indoors.
Beijing saw its worst air pollution for 2015 on Monday, with extremely hazardous levels of pollutants detected around the city; in one suburb, particle readings hit 976 micrograms per cubic meter — more than 900 micrograms higher than the safe level. China is the world's biggest total carbon polluter, with two-thirds of the country's energy coming from coal. On days like Monday, the government limits activities at construction sites and factories, and increases street cleaning, CBS News reports. The government blamed the intense smog on high humidity and a lack of wind. Catherine Garcia
The Week
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