Beijing smog watch: 7 August

Aug 6 - A thick haze hovered over Beijing on Thursday, just a day before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games that have been beset by worries about pollution.

An official Chinese website was still showing the Chinese Air Pollution Index (API) from Wednesday, which was 85. This figure is valid from 1200 local the day before until 1200 local (0300 GMT) the present day. This is grade two, and counts as a "blue sky day".

The weather is humid and hot with temperatures hitting 34 degrees celsius (93 Fahrenheit.)