Some businesses benefit from choked air

There is a silver lining for even the darkest among the smog clouds -- the pollution has been a boon to certain industries. Last year, pollution monitoring and control businesses in China got the lion's share of environment related investment, receiving around 189 million US dollars.

Meanwhile, over 40 environment-related companies listed on the A-share market have released annual earnings -- 80 percent of them posting profit increases. Analysts say companies generating power from waste, fine particle treatment, and thermal power denitration are the most likely ones to get a revenue boost in the future.