LOOK: Thick fog, smog returns to cover cities in northern China

Hello grayness, my old friend

Just a week after we were noting how China has managed to ward off annual airpocalpyses this winter, an all too familiar layer of gray has descended upon many parts of the country.

In Beijing, which has enjoyed unusually breathable air this month, authorities were forced to issue a “blue alert” for air pollution on Thursday extending into Friday as the city’s skyscrapers became shrouded in a noxious mist.

But at least Beijingers had it better than residents of Shandong province, where a red alert was issued today for “fog,” as visibility dropped well below 50 meters.

Chinese netizens have mocked weather authorities for calling the stuff in the sky seen above “fog,” noting that it looks a whole lot more to them like “smog.”

According to a map from air quality monitor aqicn.org, much of northern China is currently experiencing “hazardous” and “very unhealthy” levels of air pollution. Meanwhile, the air in Shanghai is merely “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

We were starting to wonder when we would finally get our PM2.5 fix.

[Images via NetEase]