Heavy Smog, Pollution, Plague Many Parts of the World in 2016

More cities around the world are facing problems related to smog and polluted air.

The problem is particularly prevalent in China, where the capital, Beijing, has been criticized for being slow to issue smog alerts.

According to the Associated Press, the "Shandong province in eastern China issued alerts in four cities after warning that the density of particulate matter in the air would exceed high levels for more than 24 hours. The Shandong environmental protection bureau says the alerts started Thursday morning.  Meteorological authorities in Hebei, regarded as China's most polluted province, issued the province's first red alert for smog on Tuesday."

The featured photo at the top of this post, taken on January 3, 2016 by ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images, shows people playing basketball at a school playground in Dalian, in China's Liaoning Province.

A red smog alarm was issued in the city on Saturday.  The air quality index in Dalian reached above 200, a level considered "very unhealthy for the entire population," and stayed at that level for more than thirty hours.

But China is not alone.

Cities in Italy, including both Rome and Milan, banned fireworks at New Year's Eve celebrations in, as the Associated Press says, "...a bid to avoid aggravating already high levels of air pollution."  Both cities have also put driving restrictions in place as pollution levels have reached alarming levels.