Pollution 😷😷😷

For whatever reason, I had a hard time falling asleep last night and waking up this morning. Not wanting to drag myself out of bed for my usual morning run, I decided to check pollution levels in Shenzhen - the sky yesterday had been a little hazy, and my skin was a little itchy. Well, what did my wondering eyes discover but a 158 "Unhealthy" rating!

So I cancelled my run, still feeling a little guilty, as I am healthy as an ox and I was thinking maybe I wouldn't have suffered any ill effects...

However, on my way to work later in the day, I noticed a definite difference in the smell of the air. Throughout work my throat tickled, and I heard children coughing as I walked past them on the streets. My eyes got itchy after walking outside, and going inside the (uninsulated) dance school did practically nothing to help. I checked the pollution again, and it hit a high of 168, yikes.

I suppose I was happy to have been right in calling off the run, but at what cost? 😑

On the way home from work I stopped by Walmart to buy a filtering face mask, and it turned out that they carried a PM2.5 grade one - which is the specific irritant that was high today. Honestly I don't know how effective the mask is, but I felt better having it.

And as I got home, the level of pollution had finally dropped from "unhealthy" to "unhealthy (for sensitive individuals)." Plus, it looks like tomorrow's gonna be another beautiful day 🙃

Peace and clean air to you all, my friends. Peace and clean air.