Greetings from Beijing. I don't find the air so objectionable, and neither do my wife and our two boys (we arrived Saturday). Leipzig 1986 was much worse.
Not sure what Leipzig was like in 86, but if you don't find it objectionable here this week, man, you have iron lungs and a high tolerance for smoke-smelling dusty stuff. :)
On a serious note, the news cycle is over hyping it. But there are some pretty bad days. And this week isn't even close to the worst it has been in Beijing a couple years ago.
PS: 4th year here.
Leipzig back then was unreal. I did a quick search for historical data on SO2 and particulate concentrations but I couldn't find anything. Not only are our environmental standards higher today, so are our expectations about the existence of data!
OK, the air here is by no means good, and it is tragic to mess up something so fundamental to happiness. But things are improving and I bet the air will too.