Beijing Mops Up after Mud Bath By andrew Browne BEIJING (Reuters)-Theskies rained mud over Beijing Thursday Clouds of fine brown dust swirling in from Inner mongolia combined with thundery weather gave the Chinese capital a mud bath Mud was caked on cars and bicycles and streaked on the raincoats of residents brave enough to venture outside under conditions that posed a greater- than-usual health hazard Overnight thunderstorms left trees dripping with brown slime. The mud-slickened streets and choking air graphically demonstrated what Beijing authorities have only just publicly admitted --the city is now Chinas most polluted metropolis By some measures, it is one of the dirtiest cities in the world. In the past several weeks the city has started publishing pollution data Beijing registered 190 on the latest national weekly pollution index --exceeded only by Guiyang in southern Guizhou province The previous week, Beijing topped the index at 259. By comparison, Shanghai was at 170 and Shenyang, once thought to have the foulest air in China. was at 152 A reading of 100-199 is supposed to indicate slight pollution, 200- 299 medium pollution and 300-500 heavy pollution, but the scale does not comply with international standards and is conservativeBeijing Mops Up After Mud Bath By Andrew Browne BEIJING (Reuters) - Theskies rained mud over Beijing Thursday. Clouds of fine brown dust swirling in from Inner Mongolia combined with thunderyweather gave the Chinese capital a mud bath. Mud was caked on cars and bicycles and streaked on the raincoats of residents brave enough to venture outside under conditions that posed a greater￾than-usual health hazard. Overnight thunderstorms left trees dripping with brown slime.The mud-slickened streets and choking air graphically demonstrated what Beijing authorities have only just publicly admitted -- the city is now China's most pollutedmetropolis. By some measures, it is one of the dirtiest cities in the world. In the past several weeks the city has started publishing pollution data. Beijing registered 190 on the latest national weekly pollution index -- exceeded only by Guiyang in southern Guizhou province. The previous week, Beijing topped the index at 259. By comparison, Shanghai was at 170 and Shenyang, once thought to have the foulest air in China, was at 152. A reading of 100-199 is supposed to indicate slight pollution, 200- 299 medium pollution and 300-500 heavy pollution, but the scale does not comply with internationalstandards and is conservative