Air Pollution… 8 more days to hold my breath.

Up until this week I would've told anyone that asked about our air quality in Suzhou that it really wasn't "that bad".   That bad meaning- we have blue(gray) skies and occasionally, once a week a "bad" day which means it's hazy/foggy, whatever you want to call it.   But not bad where I'd feel endangered or need to wear a mask.

This week has been HORRENDOUS!  It started Sunday when we couldn't see across the lake and my lungs were BURNING.  I've never had strep throat but I imagine that I now know what it feels like just from living with pollution.   Picture every time you swallow your throat is on fire and when you breath its hard work.  

On Sunday our air quality in Suzhou was at a level of 289 on a scale of 0 to 500.  289 is BAD, Beijing is normally in the 200-300 range and Suzhou/Shanghai are normally 100-200, the fact that on Sunday we were 289 and Beijing was only 220 scared me.  We are NEVER worse than Beijing - that's the worst place in the whole country!  They close schools and airports because of the pollution there and you're telling me the air I'm breathing today is now worse than that!!!

What's even worse now is that as the week has progressed the air quality has worsened with it.  We are 320 today and Changzhou where Bill works is 440!!!!  440, that's almost off the richter scale!   I told him not to go to work today.  He said Mr. Fu had to slow down and drive with the hazards on in the car because you couldn't see anything.  WHAT THE H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS IS THIS????

Here's a link to the air quality website I've been using…  you can check out your city and compare it to ours!    http://www.airnow.gov

Until living here I never knew what it was like to experience air pollution and man does it make me thankful for blue skies and clean air.  8 more days of holding my breath!
Even the local papers are writing articles on how to protect oneself.  NOT COOL!
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/suzhou/articles/blogs-suzhou/suzhou-news/how-protect-yourself-air-pollution/

Here's some pictures but they don't even do the damage justice.   Even just walking outside the air stinks like sewer!