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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

China's smoggiest city closed schools Wednesday as much of the country suffered its sixth day under an oppressive haze, sparking public anger about the slow response to the threat to children's health.

Since Friday a choking miasma has covered a large swathe of northeastern China, leaving more than 460 million gasping for breath.

Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, was one of more than 20 cities which went on red alert Friday evening, triggering an emergency plan to reduce pollution by shutting polluting factories and taking cars off the road, among other measures.

Nowhere has been hit as hard as Shijiazhuang, which has seen a huge rise in pollution.

But the city's education department waited until Tuesday evening to announce it was closing elementary schools and kindergartens, following similar moves in nearby Beijing and Tianjin.

The announcement said middle and high schools could close on a voluntary basis.

The statement on the education department's official social media account provoked anger [phys.org].

Hmm, classmates in Beijing assured us air pollution in China came from Siberia.

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