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China’s Apocalyptic Hellscape

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The smog in Beijing and parts of northern China has grown so bad that some have likened conditions to living through a “nuclear winter”

Related content:
China’s Smog Is So Bad They’re Now Calling It a ‘Nuclear Winter’

A general view of the pollution covered Beijing CBD on Feb. 25, 2014 in Beijing.
A general view of the pollution covered Beijing CBD on Feb. 25, 2014 in Beijing.Lintao Zhang—Getty Images
People look at an area of central Beijing blanketed in smog on Feb. 24, 2014.
People look at an area of central Beijing blanketed in smog on Feb. 24, 2014. Kyodo—Landov
Cars drive on the Three Ring Road amid the heavy haze in Beijing, Feb. 26, 2014.
Cars drive on the Three Ring Road amid the heavy haze in Beijing, Feb. 26, 2014.Jason Lee—Reuters
CCTV Building is shrouded in heavy smog on Feb. 25, 2014, in Beijing.
CCTV Building is shrouded in heavy smog on Feb. 25, 2014, in Beijing.ChinaFotoPress—Getty Images
A tourist wearing a face mask climbs Jingshan Hill beside the Forbidden City as heavy air pollution continues to shroud Beijing on Feb. 26, 2014.
A tourist wearing a face mask climbs Jingshan Hill beside the Forbidden City as heavy air pollution continues to shroud Beijing on Feb. 26, 2014. Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty Images
A chimney of a heating plant is obscured by heavy haze as commuters walk through a bridge linking a subway station and a bus station on a severely polluted day in Beijing, Feb. 25, 2014.
A chimney of a heating plant is obscured by heavy haze as commuters walk through a bridge linking a subway station and a bus station on a severely polluted day in Beijing, Feb. 25, 2014. Alexander F. Yuan—AP
Chinese tourists wearing face masks visit Tiananmen Square as heavy air pollution continues to shroud Beijing on Feb. 26, 2014.
Chinese tourists wearing face masks visit Tiananmen Square as heavy air pollution continues to shroud Beijing on Feb. 26, 2014. Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty Images
Buildings are shrouded in heavy smog on Feb. 25, 2014, in Qingdao, Shandong Province.
ChinaFotoPress—Getty Images
Children walk back home after school on a severely polluted day in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei province, Feb. 26, 2014.
Children walk back home after school on a severely polluted day in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei province, Feb. 26, 2014. Alexander F. Yuan—AP
A woman tries to take photos on the river bank in the haze in southwest Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 23, 2014.
A woman tries to take photos on the river bank in the haze in southwest Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 23, 2014.Ran Wen—EPA
A farmer shovels in a field near electric pylons in heavy haze on a severely polluted day in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei province, Feb. 26, 2014.
A farmer shovels in a field near electric pylons in heavy haze on a severely polluted day in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei province, Feb. 26, 2014.Alexander F. Yuan—AP

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