Eerie photos spotlight Beijing and New Delhi's polluted air

This storyis part of CBC Newsspecial coverageof climate change issues in connection with the United Nations climate change conference (COP21) being heldin Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

Beijing blanketedin worst smog of the year

While Chinese President Xi Jinping joined other world leaders in Paris for climate talks, schools in Beijing kept children indoors, highways closed and factories scaled back work because of thick, smelly smog that cut visibility to mere metres in the Chinese capital on Monday.

The matter with atmospheric particulate matter

The concentration of hazardous particulate matter (known as PM2.5 particles) in the air exceeded 600 micrograms per cubic metrein places inside Beijing's urban centre, while readings as high as 976 micrograms were recorded at monitoring sites in some suburban areas.

Red alert too disruptive

Critics inside the country sayauthorities held back from issuing a red alert because China'shighest warning is too disruptive, requiring at least half of the vehicles on highways to be pulled off the road and thesuspension ofschools.

Winter is worst for air pollution

An early coldsnap in November meant winter heating much of which is generated by coal-fired plants and wood fires for many poorer residentswas contributing to a worsening of air quality, which deteriorated over the weekend.

Winter is coming to New Delhi, too

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leftsimilarconditions in New Delhi as he departed for the Paris climate summit.

The Indian capital, which typically suffers a deterioration of air quality in the winter, was blanked in a particularly thick cloud of hazardous, choking smog on Monday.

Too little, too late?

Initiatives to clean up Delhi's air have hit roadblocks in the past. A directive this year to ban all vehicles older than 15 years has been delayed and previous city governments have often ignored court orders to address pollution woes.