This is so sad. The implications for the progress of China are enormous.

I visited China in 2007, one year before the Beijing Olympics.

They were already trying to curb the pollution so the athletes could practice.

The day after we landed, I started coughing and my throat was sore. I thought I was developing a cold. I wasn't. We were in Beijing for about a week and never saw the sky while we were in the city. How depressing that must be, although maybe people get used to it.

They are trying.

Next time you get out and look up, be glad you live in a place where you can still see the sky.

Now what about this:

Beijing 2022 was a successful bid by Beijing, China and the Chinese Olympic Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[1] The IOC selected the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31, 2015, which Beijing won. This makes Beijing the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.