Friday: On the day of the Olympic opening ceremonies, the Air Pollution Index reading was a moderate 94 (see the “Beijing Air Quality” box on the right side of this page):
![Beijing 8.8.08](http://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/beijing_08-08-08.jpg)
View of Beijing’s third ring road and CCTV building. Photo taken Aug. 8.
And here’s the same view one week earlier, when the API reading was a 27:
![Beijing 8.8.08](http://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/beijing_08-01-08.jpg)
View of Beijing’s third ring road and CCTV building. Photo taken Aug. 1.