China's suffocating smog arrives in Japan, sparking health fears
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This file photo taken on Jan 22, 2013, shows a thermal power plant discharging heavy smog into the air in Changchun, north-east China's Jilin province. The suffocating smog that blanketed swathes of China is now hitting parts of Japan, sparking warnings on Monday of health fears for the young and the sick. -- PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO (AFP) - The suffocating smog that blanketed swathes of China is now hitting parts of Japan, sparking warnings on Monday of health fears for the young and the sick.
The environment ministry's website has been overloaded as worried users log on to try to find out what is coming their way.
"Access to our air-pollution monitoring system has been almost impossible since last week, and the telephone here has been constantly ringing because worried people keep asking us about the impact on health," said an environment ministry official.
Pictures of Beijing and other Chinese cities shrouded in thick, choking smog played out across television screens in Japan last week.
