AKIPRESS.COM - Chinese state media and netizens have decried high pollution levels in the northeast city of Shenyang, which activists have said could be the "worst ever" air quality seen in the country, reports BBC.
On Sunday pollution readings were about 50 times higher than that considered safe by the World Health Organization.
State media have blamed the local government for the thick smog.
Pollution is a perennial problem in China's northeast, home to heavy industries including coal mining.
In some parts of Shenyang, Sunday's readings of tiny particulate which can get into the lungs, known as PM 2.5, exceeded 1,400 mg per cubic metre, according to state media People's Daily.
The WHO recommends a maximum 24-hour average of 25 mg per cubic metre.
"As far as we are aware from the data we have been observing over the past few years, this is the highest ever PM 2.5 level recording" in the country, Dong Liansai a campaigner with environmental group Greenpeace, told AFP news agency.
There has been no government confirmation of this assertion.