China Beijing ( Smog so bad- They were masks at their desk Job )

Beijing office workers wear 'gas masks' at their desks as hazardous smog envelops city

Office workers in Beijing have resorted to wearing gas-mask style protective headgear at their desks as residents across northern China battled through choking pollution.

A woman wearing a mask for protection from pollution walks through the haze in Beijing on Jan 29, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Jason Lee

7:59AM GMT 29 Jan 2013

Air quality levels rose above index limits in Beijing amid warnings that the smog may not clear until Thursday.

Visibility was reduced to around 200 metres in the centre of the capital, where mask-wearing pedestrians made their way through a murky haze, despite warnings from authorities to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.

In a Beijing city office visited by news agency Agence France-Presse, up to 20 workers wore the protective headgear at their desks, and the cloud of pollution shrouded large swathes of the country for the second consecutive day.

State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) showed vehicles using full headlights in mid-morning to light a way through the smog, mainly in the badly affected central province of Henan.

A total of 109 flights were cancelled at Zhengzhou Airport in Henan, said CCTV, adding that the haze would last until Thursday.