The first days after authorities took half the cars off the roads of Beijing to improve air quality for the Olympics that we noted in Cleaning Up Beijing’s Air may have been a false dawn.
Between 24th and 28th July pollution levels shot back up above World Health Organization standards having been well below since the 12th.
BBC is reporting that pollution levels have been sufficiently high in recent days that emergency measures are being considered. These could include taking nine out of 10 cars off the roads for the duration of the Games, stopping all construction and closing some factories completely.