The pollution has gotten unreal. I can't see a foot in front of me. Nobody goes outside without a gas mask. You can even SEE the pollution in the hallways indoors! Today I only had 4 kids of out 25 kids in my class. Hopefully this clears up soon! It's only been really bad for the past few days. It's been polluted, but most of the time it's manageable. Usually pollution is worse in the winter and better in fall and spring. I hope you all appreciate the clean air and blue skies at home! You are lucky. It's time to put my running on hold until this pollution clears up because this is just unhealthy. Just to give you an idea, every morning I check the daily AQI (air quality index). Anything over 100 is considered very unhealthy. The maximum is 500 which is hazardous.
Comparison: View from the apartment in late October vs. today (see pic below). AQI is 505 right now. For perspective, 50-100 is considered moderate, 100-150 unhealthy for sensitive groups, 150-200 unhealthy, 200-300 very unhealthy (affecting not only sensitive groups but the entire population), and anything over 300 "hazardous". It is absurd and frankly shameful that schools haven't been closed.
