(Fig. 2) Beijing Airport in September, prior to the new international terminal building looking east. Visiblity about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 3) Beijing Airport in August, post the start of the construction of the new international terminal building and barely discernible in the photo, looking west towards Beijing. In this situation, the domestic flight was passing the airport heading north and to the east, in the process of performing an orbit of the airfield. The flight originally arrived from the south and west of the airfield, and after a 360 degree flyover, landing in the same direction on runway 01, 01 being barely visible in the photo on the east side (near field) of airport. My suspicions being, as the air traffic patterns were not heavy and with poor visibility, is that the flyover of the Beijing airport was performed as a safety measure so that the pilots could make a visual confirmation of the field and its location first, regardless of instrumentation capability, prior to attempt their landing approach. Visiblity less than 1.0 miles (1.6 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 4) Air pollution in November over the Shuanqiao area of eastern Beijing. Visibility at altitude, estimating to be 5,000 feet (1500 m) about 3.0 miles (4.8 km), with visible at ground level being much less. Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 5) Beijing East 3rd Ring Road in June, Chaoyang District, looking south from the Hilton Hotel. Visiblity about 2.0 miles (3.2 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 6) Beijing East 3rd Ring Road in December, looking north from Hilton (not fog).This very dark and heavy soot filled air, and perhaps reminiscent in composition and density to the reported and horrendous air pollution present in 19th century England, coming from the burning of coal. Many of the small shops, restaurants, and very poor homes, in particular the hautong districts, consuming vast quantities of compressed cylindrical shaped coal pellets, typically about 4" - 6" inches (100 - 150 mm) in diameter by 4" inches (100 mm) tall, (Fig. xx) used primarily for heating and cooking. The coal merchants with their small carts, plying the streets and sidewalks of most neighborhood of every city, selling door to door. The air inside many of the building and apartment towers, during such times of extensive carbon particle based suspended air pollution, in and around Beijing and all populated city in China, being noticeably less transparent, the air indoors appearing foggy, less mechanically pre filtered using an HVAC system. Visabilty about 0.75 miles (4.8 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 7) Coal pellets wanting to be distributed by pedicarts in Huaibei, Anhui Province, China (STR/AFP/Getty Images, 2013).^[1]

(Vid. 1) Video taken in December panning from south to north along 3rd Ring Road towards the Chaoyang District from the Hilton Hotel. (8.97 MB file, and may take a couple minutes to download). Visiblity about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Click on the image to start the video. Windows MediaPlayer application required.

(Fig. 8) Central Beijing area in June looking east northeast. Visiblity about 2.5 miles (4.0 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 9) Central Beijing area in June looking east southeast. Visiblity about 3.0 miles (3.2 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 10, left) Photo of the 1,329 feet (405 m) CCTV Tower and antenna. The outdoor observation deck being 781 feet (238 m). (Fig. 11, right) Beijing from the observation deck at the CCTV Tower looking northeast. Visiblity about 2.0 miles (3.2 km). Click for (hi res)

(Vid. 2) Video panorama taken in November, looking south to north at Beijing from the CCTV Tower observation deck 781 feet (238 m). The body of water is Bayi Lake (thin) and Yuyuan pond (wide). Visibility is about 2 miles (3.2 km). (8.35 MB file, and may take a couple minutes to download). Click on the image to start the video. Windows MediaPlayer application required.

(Fig. 12) Zhongguancun Area in November, near Beijing University. Visiblity about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 38) Taipei Airport arrival, Runway 23 looking south east towards the center of Taipei. Visiblity about 2.5 miles (4.0 km). Click for (hi res)

(Vid. 9) Video of Taipei Airport departure, initially looking to south east gradually rotating to the south as seen from Runway 23 (30 MB file, and may take a couple minutes to download). Click on the image to start the video. Windows MediaPlayer application required.

(Fig. 39) Air pollution in central Taipei, from Shangri la. Visiblity about 2.0 miles (3.2 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 40) Air pollution in central Taipei, looking at building Taipei 101 from the Shangri La Hotel. Visibility about 2.0 miles (3.2 km). Note how the building spire on Taipei 101, ~1450' feet (442 m) above ground level, is the only part of the structure that is brightly illuminated by the Sun, yet at ground level, also in the path of direct Sun light appearing to be shadowed. The air particle density being so high, the nature of the particles absorbing across what appears to be all wavelengths of light (micro black bodies), that the sum of the optical effects, beyond the obvious loss of transmission, is similar to that of a neutral density (ND) filter. Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 41) Air pollution in center Taiwan, from the Miaoli County - Taichung City line, looking east. Note how the 5th high voltage power line structure (~1.5 km) is barely visable. Visiblity about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 42) Inchon Airport outside of Seoul South Korea (ROK), looking northwest in the direction of Soeoul. Visiblity is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 43) Inchon Airport (lower portion of frame) looking north towards North Korea. Note the large mass of orographic air pollution, pooling into a dense collection towards the upper left portion of the photo having arrived from China, completing the transit across the Bohai and Yellow Sea. The predominately Chinese sources for this air pollution being far too numerous to state. Click for (hi res)

(Vid. 10) Inchon Airport departure, looking to the northeast towards Seoul. The majority of the visible air pollution along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula coming from across the Yellow Sea from China, having traveled with the prevailing winds. (8.84 MB file, and may take a couple minutes to download). Click on the image to start the video. Windows MediaPlayer application required.

(Fig. 44) Inchon, and from this point, about 10 miles southwest of Seoul, heading east looking towards the north. Notice how the pollution, though downwind from the direction of the prevailing winds, is reducing in density. The slight gain in elevation and distance from the coast which is about 5 miles (8 km) away, permitting for cleaner, less polluted air. The dense mass of air pollution to the left of the frame, and over water, being greatly elevated in particulates and aerosols with the addition of air pollution that propagated across the Yellow and Bohai Seas from China. Click for (hi res)

Photos and video of air pollution in Mainland China (PRC), Taipei (ROC), and South Korea (ROK) taken by Park McGraw, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009. All copyrights reserved.

(Fig. 45) MODIS Satellite Data (NASA, 2003) showing air pollution optical density^[3] and distribution patterns over the Pacific Ocean and Northern Hemisphere as it leaves the Asian continent. Click for (hi res)

(Fig. 46) MODIS Satellite Data (NASA, 2006) showing the global distribution pattern of PM 2.5 (2.5 μm particle size),^[5] air pollution particles with density in micro grams per cubic meter as seen over land surfaces.

(Fig. 47) Aura EO Satellite Data (NASA GSFC, 2006) showing the level and distribution of nitrogen dioxide [NO₂] levels over Beijing^[7] and surrounding areas for both land and water covered surfaces. The level of detectable [NO₂] noticeably dropping in the 5 Nov 2006 image as the use of automobiles were in central Beijing were temporarily restricted from 4 Nov - 6 Nov 2006.

(Fig. 48) Aura EO Satellite Data (NASA GSFC, 2010) showing China's average Nitrogen Dioxide [NO₂] emission levels and distribution pattern for 2010^[9] relative to the entire Earth.