Unfazed by smog, runners go maskless in Beijing

RUNNING IN TIANANMEN SQUARE | Some 30,000 people join the Beijing Marathon on Sunday. (REUTERS)

BEIJING — Runners undeterred by thick smog engulfing the Chinese capital ran the Beijing Marathon maskless on Sunday, many wearing shorts in one of the warmest Octobers on record.

Despite a grayish-brown smog settling, some 30,000 marathoners set off at 7:30 a.m. from Tiananmen Square on the route through four districts of the Chinese capital over 42.195 kilometers.

Beijing was the fourth most-polluted major city in the world on Sunday, according to Swiss air-quality technology firm IQAir.

In the Haidian district on Beijing’s outskirts, the sky looked dreary, but hikers and visitors showed up at the Fragrant Hills Park where many go to enjoy autumn foliage, according to a Reuters witness.

China’s national forecaster advised the public to wear masks, warning on Sunday morning of low visibility in the capital and neighboring regions, with air quality reaching moderate or severe pollution.

Steel production hubs in Tangshan, Handan, and other cities in the northern province of Hebei launched emergency responses on Friday after heavy air pollution forecasts. The notices did not indicate when the controls would be lifted.

Higher temperatures

The smog adds unusually warm October weather, due to significantly weaker cold air currents from the north as the polar vortex that sends cold air southward was situated further north recently, experts said.

Beijing’s high on Sunday was 19°C, according to the national weather bureau.

Parts of China, including in the north and northeast, have been experiencing temperatures 2 to 4 Celsius degrees higher than normal for the past 10 days.

“At present, a total of 237 national meteorological stations have broken historically highest temperatures in late October, which is still a relatively rare situation,” National Meteorological Centre chief forecaster Fang Chong was quoted by state media as saying.

The weather bureau forecasts weak cold air currents to last the rest of the month before beginning to cool in early November.