China is on alert over choking smog originating from wintertime coal use, which is threatening people?s respiratory and immune system. So what exactly is fine dust? Fine dust consists of a mixture of tiny, part solid, part liquid or gaseous particles that are smaller than a ten thousand of a millimeter. Simply put, it is literally dust with extremely fine particles. It is formed from industrial waste gases, diesel particulates, car exhaust gases, abraded brake lining particles, earthwork and natural processes. When it permeates to our body, it can cause number of respiratory diseases and weaken the immune system. Recent studies showed they can directly enter the bronchial tubes and interfere with the gas exchange in the lungs.

The concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter increased to more than three times normal levels Wednesday, with recording the highest figure of 268 micrograms per cubic meter. The concentration in the city averaged 55 micrograms on November 22, according to the Qingdao institute of environmental research. The concentration raises the fine dust alert level to ?very bad,? the highest level considered by the research center. A scale of zero to 30 is ?good,? 31 to 80 ?normal,? 81 to 120 ?slightly bad,? 121 to 200 ?bad? and 201 to 301 ?very bad.? The environment center said the concentration in Qingdao city is likely influenced by regional factors as well, such as local factories.

Experts are recommending people to wear face masks when there are fine dust warnings since westerly winds blowing from China?s northern regions bear a cloud laden with serious levels of metals, including lead, cadmium and arsenic. A special type of a pollution mask that uses activated carbon cloth and has an extra layer is recommended. Detergents that claim to wash out heavy metals and bacteria are in demand as well, with sales of hand sanitizers growing 636 percent on-year in the past month. People should keep their eyes on the weather forecast and prepare for the next move.

The Chinese government has recently shown signs of taking the issue seriously as well, a big step for a country that has refused for years to acknowledge the problem. China?s smog carrying serious levels of heavy metals has been taking a toll on its neighboring countries? environment and citizens? health, with visibly in some Korean cities recording less than 300 meters on Thursday. In September, the Chinese government announced targets to cut coal consumption and it has been carrying out research into alternative energy, public transportation systems and electric cars.