On a Clear Day....Well, They Don't Really Have Clear Days

Take a look at the beautiful Bird's Nest Stadium where the Olympics will be held in Beijing, China:

Can you see it there through the smog? How'd you like to run a marathon, or even walk to the stadium in that mess?

The area where the games will take place failed the government's own smog targets, even as officials opened the Olympic Village with great fanfare.

The air was "unhealthy for sensitive groups," the city's environmental protection bureau said.

The official targets are themselves much looser than those considered "safe" by the World Health Organisation.

"It doesn't really look so good," said Gunilla Lindberg, the vice-president of the International Olympic Committee.

"The day I arrived, Tuesday, was awful. We try to be hopeful. Hopefully we are lucky during the games as we were with Atlanta, Athens and Barcelona."

Partly because of the pollution, several national teams are conducting their final preparations away from Beijing, including the British. But other athletes have begun arriving at the Olympic Village.

From this complex, the main stadia were invisible, thanks to the city's haze.

Nonetheless, Du Shaozhong, the environmental bureau's deputy director, said conditions were 20 per cent better than during the equivalent period last year.

But he admitted that the lack of wind, a common feature of July weather, was preventing the dispersal of the haze.

I had a story the other day about efforts the Chinese were making to change the climate, but it doesn't appear to be working. They better pray for rain and wind right before the games start or their big event will not be getting the kind of glorious press coverage that they're hoping for.