Worst weather forecast,” writes Post blogger Barbara Floria Orcutt from China, “light smog with a chance of increasing smog. The first
few days we were here the skies were relatively clear and I considered that
perhaps the reports of China’s air pollution were overblown. Not so. While we
never developed respiratory problems, most days heavy pollution hid buildings
and on-coming traffic about a quarter mile away, obfuscating promised views of the Forbidden City from our hotel’s 13th floor dining room. And it’s bound to
get worse–China News reports 50,000 new drivers are added to Beijing’s already grid-locked city streets each month.”