The city of Harbin in China experienced horrible pollution which caused the local schools to close, airports to shut down, and basically paralyzed traffic for hours. The heavy fog caused by the pollution make it nearly impossible to see anything past 10 meters, which is highly dangerous, especially while flying an aircraft or driving a car. The heavy fog happened when the Chinese government made the decision to turn on the coal-powered heating system of the city due to the upcoming winter season. After a air quality index test, the Harbin government found out that the city had scored more than 500. The United States declares that anything between 301 to 500 AQI is considered as Hazardous! Over recent years, there has been a 30 percent increase surge of individuals in the Harbin city that had to be go to the hospital due to respiratory issues. There are three main factors are contributing to the horrible pollution to the city: lack of wind, burning of crops on farms, and the start up of the heating system powered by coal. Even though the pollution has gone to extreme levels, the Harbin government are taking steps to try to reduce it. For example in recent years they had destroyed hundreds of small boilers, along with banning high sulfur coal, and using cleaner car fuel methods.