Beijing's air pollution as seen from space

On January 13, The New York Times reported that air pollution levels in Beijing, China were elevated to a point "beyond indexing". The readings help form the Air Quality Index ( PDF ), which is used to determine levels of harmful particulate matter, and topped out at 755 ppm at a monitoring station at the U.S. Embassy (on a scale of 500).The folks at NOAA have posted two satellite images that show what the entire Beijing region looks like with and without a shroud of smog: [More]