The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences released a new study of 40 major cities around the world, ranking them according to their environment. The study ranked Beijing as the second worst, stating that Beijing’s pollution has made the city nearly “uninhabitable for human beings.”
The ecological factors in the survey included habitability, environment, and pollution. Beijing was rated the second worst, according to the study, because “Beijing’s habitability is far below average and the city is considered not habitable; its environment is about half way below the average, meaning it is far from meeting the [safety] standards; pollution is extremely severe, and is much worse than the average. It has even reached the extent that it is not fit for human habitation.”
According to the official release of the Beijing authorities early this year, in 2013 the city had 176 days of good weather and 58 days of severe pollution.
Source: Finance, February 12, 2014
http://finance.jrj.com.cn/2014/02/12114516651875.shtml