Beijing, China, is having insane smog right now, so heavy that flights and concerts are being canceled. Officially, visibility is around 160 feet, although people are reporting being able to see only a few yards in front of their faces, and small-particle pollution is 40 times higher than the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization. And here is what it looks like from space, as photographed by NASA satellites:

lance_china_smog

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By contrast, here’s what it looked like on a clearer day in early September:
lance_china_clear

Aliens are for sure looking at us and shaking their heads, or whatever, real sadly right now.

(H/t Charlie Loyd)