HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's air pollution hit its highest level in August since the territory began monitoring air quality in 1995, government data released Sunday showed.

The air pollution index reached a high of 181 at Tung Chung, a town near the airport, on August 28, AFP reported.

On Friday, thick smog blanketed Hong Kong and the government warned people with respiratory problems to stay away from heavy traffic and cut back on outdoor physical activity.

Government officials had blamed local factories, vehicles and development in China's fast-growing pearl river delta for creating the smog.

Typhoon Sinlaku, which made landfall north of Hong Kong, did not help to clear the air.

Hong Kong's air pollution problem has grown steadily worse in recent years, caused in part by the territory's large fleets of diesel-powered vehicles and rapid economic growth in China's Guangdong Province, just north of Hong Kong.

A recent survey found nearly 40 percent of children in the tiny territory suffered from respiratory disease, which experts have linked to deteriorating air quality.

Business executives have stepped up pressure on Hong Jong's government to clean up the bad air, which they say is turning off potential investors and foreign talent who might otherwise want to relocate and work in the territory.

Authorities in Hong Kong and southern China have repeatedly said they would tackle cross-border pollution but few concrete measures have emerged.