Students take ‘smog-exams’ in PM2.5-500 playground in Henan

Hundreds of students took exams in an outdoor playground on Monday amid toxic smog in Linzhou, Anyang, Central China's Henan Province. Without masks to protect themselves from the pollution, students sat on small stools and completed their test papers shrouded by the smog. The PM2.5 density has exceeded 500 in Anyang since Monday, 20 times the 24-hour guidelines set by the World Health Organization, said the PM2.5 monitoring website pm25china.net. According to dahe.cn, one of the students explained on Tuesday that the school organized four outdoor exams on Monday with hundreds of Grade 8 students taking part. Local education authorities issued a notification on December 19, suspending classes for kindergartens, primary and high schools starting at 12 pm, December 19, and continuing until the smog alert is lifted. The headmaster of the high school, surnamed Feng, told dahe.cn that the school organized the exams on Monday morning as the smog in Linzhou at that time was not very serious. They canceled other exams after receiving the suspension notice, Feng added. Yet Feng reluctantly admitted later that the exams continued on Monday afternoon after being refuted by the parent of one of the students that took part in the exams. At least 24 cities across China have issued heavy smog alerts on Friday as the country suffers from the worst air pollution levels in months. The measures include vehicle restrictions, suspension of construction and suspension of classes in kindergartens, primary and high schools.