As a part of the whole ecosystem, it may be hard to improve air quality separately, so measures such as planting more trees may also be required to solve the pollution. Residents should also take responsibility by doing something basic, like garbage classification and driving less.

Sun Jiangbo, 33, a Beijing resident and taxi driver

I reduced my students' outdoor activities during the bad-air days earlier in the year. I hope that in the future teachers will receive official notification when the air quality is unsuitable for outdoor exercise for kids.