Li said more than 300 people visit her department a day, with conditions varying from a common cold to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. "The number of these patients has increased by 20 percent since summer."
People with weaker immunity, such as children, elderly and people with chronic health problems, are more prone to respiratory diseases when there is less ventilation and more tiny particles in the environment, experts said.
On Tuesday, the hall of the emergency department of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics was swarmed with parents and their children taking drip infusions.
Four people told China Daily their children or grandchildren had respiratory ailments.
A nurse in the department said most of the young patients in the hall were having respiratory problems.
Lu Yuxiu, 66, said her 2-year-old grandson and 5-year-old granddaughter had both caught a cold and had a high fever last week.
"Right now they have fevers of 39 C and inflamed tonsils," she said. "I think the air may have affected their health."
On Tuesday, the Beijing Meteorological Station lifted the orange smog alert, which it had issued on Sunday. The station predicted that on Wednesday, northern winds will return to the city and drive away particles in the air.
Why supervision on 'drug chicken' lacks intensity?
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