Pollution in China (19 images)

New housing estates under construction are veiled by thick smog, which the U.S. Embassy's daily air index has rated as hazardous, blanketing Beijing January 18, 2012. Air pollution in China's capital has been so bad that the air quality monitoring system used by the U.S. Embassy here has described the pollution as being off the scale. The World Bank reports that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China, with Beijing being the 10th most polluted capital. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Tiananmen Square sits under a thick blanket of smog, which the U.S. Embassy's daily air index has rated as hazardous, darkening the afternoon sun in Beijing January 18, 2012. Air pollution in China's capital has been so bad that the air quality monitoring system used by the U.S. Embassy here has described the pollution as being off the scale. The World Bank reports that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China, with Beijing being the 10th most polluted capital. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Heavy smog hangs over Beijing midday December 5, 2011. China's air pollution standards are too lax, a senior environmental official said in comments published last week, the highest level comment following public complaints that government authorities are understating the extent of pollution that envelops China's capital. UPI/Stephen Shaver

Chinese fishermen work on the Gan River as heavy pollution hangs over Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, October 16, 2010. China, the world's fastest growing economy, continues to have the deadliest air pollution in the world with the highest annual incidence of premature deaths triggered by air pollution, according to the World Health Organization. UPI/Stephen Shaver