Elegant in their long white dresses and spectacular gold jewellery, accessorised with medical masks, the women sashayed down the catwalk to applause from watching fashionistas.

Thanks to sky high levels of air pollution In Nanjing, the capital of the smog-hit Jiangsu province, the masks were insisted upon by officials concerned about the impact of doing an outdoor show on models’ health.

Air pollution is becoming an increasingly serious issue in the world’s most populous country, with scores of coal-burning power stations pushing emissions to a level that is 40 times higher than the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organisation.
In Nanjing, and capital Beijing, conditions worsen in winter thanks to additional demand for power and have been exacerbated by the country’s rapid urbanisation.

And it’s not just fashion shows that are affected by the poisonous clouds: so thick is the lingering smog, flights into and across China are regularly disrupted.

The current outbreak of smog is affecting the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan provinces, although the capital has also been badly hit.

Other cities to face smog-related problems during the outbreak, which has lasted for more than a week, include Shanghai and Hangzhou.

But it is Nanjing that is enduring the worst of the smog, with officials putting the city on red alert according to Chinese news agency, Xinhua.