China will deploy world’s largest outdoor air purifier designed by a Dutch engineer in its smog-hit capital Beijing, as the thick heavily-polluted haze returned to haunt the city, driving people indoors. The seven-meter-tall tower, brainchild of Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde, is undergoing last-minute checks in Beijing’s 751 D Park art area.

• The ‘Smog Free Tower‘ will soon be opened to the public, and will be toured across the country, state-run Global Times said, quoting China Forum of Environmental Journalists, an NGO under China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.
• The tower can capture about 75 per cent of PM 2.5 and PM 10 tiny particles in its vicinity and then release purified air to create a “bubble” of fresh air around it. The tower can clean 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour through its patented ozone-free ion technology.
• Beijing has been plagued with heavy smog since the beginning of October. The city’s environmental authorities issued a “yellow alert” for air pollution. Yellow alert” is the third-most serious level in a four tier colour-code warning system. Red is the most serious and orange the second-most serious while blue is the least serious pollution level.
• The average PM2.5 density of the small deadly polluted particles crossed over 300 today even though a cold front in the morning cleared the smog a bit. Liu Guozheng, CFEJ secretary-general said the tower is intended to warn authorities never to forget their duty and encourage the public to pull together to combat the smog.