Beijing actually experienced blue skies in mid-August 2008, during the Summer Olympic Games. Haze returned to the region, however, and by early September, the city was considering keeping in place the restrictions that had been aimed at reducing pollution during the Olympics.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on September 6, 2008. A band of clouds, possibly mixed with haze, appears over Beijing. To the south lies a large blanket of haze that stretches eastward over Bo Hai.

• References
• Spencer, R. (2008, September 6). Beijing debates whether Olympics pollution controls should stay. National Geographic News. Accessed August 19, 2008.
• National Geographic News. (2008, August 15). Environment Photos Weekly. Accessed August 19, 2008.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. The Rapid Response Team provides daily images of this region. Caption by Michon Scott.

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