China will tighten environmental legislation and force polluters to pay compensation following renewed blasts of toxic air.
Updated: March 09, 2014, 12:00 AM
In pictures: China, the desolation of smog
A worker walks past coking kilns at a coking plant on the outskirts of Changzhi, Shanxi province. Reuters
A group of expatriates walk along the Bund in January as they distribute face masks to pedestrians to raise awareness of air pollution in downtown Shanghai. Carlos Barria / Reuters
A combination photo shows the air pollution levels in the sky over Tiananmen Square over a period of nine days. Almost all Chinese cities monitored for pollution last year failed to meet state standards. Wei Yao / Reuters
The China Central Television building, left, during a heavy haze in Beijing’s central business district in January. Jason Lee / Reuters
Smoke rises from a chimney among houses on a hazy day in the city centre of Tangshan, Hebei province. Petar Kujundzic / Reuters
A man exercises in the morning as he faces chimneys emitting smoke behind buildings across the Songhua river in Jilin. Reuters
Smoke rises from chimneys and cooling towers of a thermal power plant in Fushun, Liaoning province. Almost all Chinese cities monitored for pollution last year failed to meet state standards. Reuters
A combination of photos shows the Beijing skyline during severe pollution, left, on January 14, 2013 and the same, right, taken during clear weather on Febuary 4 a year earlier. Ed Jones / AFP
People wear masks during a hazy day in downtown Shanghai. Almost all Chinese cities monitored for pollution last year failed to meet state standards. Aly Song / Reuters