[Caipirabob]

I had family just return from China and they said it was so "explicative removed" filthy that it hurt his throat to breath. He's back in the states and has had a sore throat since he returned. I don't think he was prepared for the level of absolute filth he saw and described.

I think China needs to be prepared to not just lose face, but everything attached to it. The world is about to discover a whole new definition of "pollution".

[Jeff Chandler]

The world is about to discover a whole new definition of "pollution".

We already have one. It's 'exhaling carbon dioxide'.

[Bon mots]

I had family just return from China and they said it was so "explicative removed" filthy that it hurt his throat to breath. He's back in the states and has had a sore throat since he returned. I don't think he was prepared for the level of absolute filth he saw and described.

That must be Beijing. It is polluted, but the worst thing is the huge cloud of dust that blows over from the Gobi Desert - that is what hurts your throat and eyes when you get there, not just the pollution. There is the omnipresent scent of sulfur in the air too.

This year the sandstorms in the Gobi Desert are particularly bad and the dust in Beijing is visible.

For what it's worth: the sandstorms are a natural phenomenon and not the result of any human activity.

[dawn53]

We spent a couple months in China (my husband was on a job assignment.) The pollution is unbelievable and a lot of Chinese experience respiratory illness because of it.

As to this “virus”...I wonder if any agency other than the Chinese has checked to make sure it’s a virus, and not some mass accidental poisoning.