This Chinese advert is a terrifying glimpse into the future

A Chinese advert for an air filter mask has been gaining attention online, but for a worrying reason.

Journalist David Ramli tweeted a screenshot of the advert, saying:

Beijing's subway ads offer a glorious glimpse of our dystopian future

The image features a woman wearing a mask over her mouth and nose, with a tube attached to a band around her arm.

The mask is real; Ramli tweeted a link to the website selling not only the one pictured above, but a variety.

It features an air filtration unit with “HEPA filter to fight the haze, providing protection against PM2.5,” according to Ramli.

Picture: Remax/screengrab

PM2.5 is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. They can get into the lungs and cause serious health problems, including heart attacks, and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

It might not look too scary, by China is the world’s deadliest country in the world for outdoor air pollution, according to the World Health Association.

In the past 24 hours, the country has issued its first ever 'red alert' for fog in a number of northern and eastern regions.

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