Smog engulfed Beijing as the pollution problem worsened.

Footage filmed by Ms Xu shows the haze from a high-rise building in Tongzhou at around 8 am on November 1.

Ms Xu said: 'I woke up on the morning of November 1st and opened the curtains.

'It was completely white outside. The fog really scared me.

'I thought I was dreaming. I went downstairs and found that I could hardly see anything 40 meters away. It was completely white.'

Smog refers to community-wide polluted air. The World Health Organisation found that air pollution is responsible for around two million deaths in China annually.

Rapidly developing Thailand and India have similar issues with chronic air pollution, with locals and unable or unwilling to tackle the issues.