It’s 9am now; for the last 12 hours the pollution levels (taken hourly at the US Embassy, you can follow at http://iphone.bjair.info) are at EMERGENCY LEVELS. Anything over 300 is considered a public health emergency; right now it is over 500!

What this means is that most countries’ public health agencies would be putting out emergency measures; that means all healthy people may have health effects at this level and should minimize all outdoor activity. What this also means is that children, and especially infants and toddlers, should stay indoors, and all school outdoor sports and activities should be suspended.

Please take care of yourself and family members! We all get blase about the pollution here but we cannot ignore “emergency” levels just because it’s so common. Perhaps an adult can choose to ignore this, but the children need adults to make the right decisions for them.