A woman and her son wearing masks walk along a road as heavy smog engulfs the city on Oct. 21, 2013 in Changchun, China
China’s notorious smog problem is no longer just an environmental issue — it’s now a security problem, too.
Government officials are raising concerns about the function of its vast network of surveillance cameras because of the thick smog blocking visibility for some of them, the South China Morning Post reports. Officials fear that threat of terrorism could be heightened on smoggy days, so the government has tasked one civilian team and one military team to find a solution within four years.
Last week, smog forced the northeast Chinese city of Harbin to shut down schools, airports and some public bus routes, Reuters reports.