China combats heavy smog with red alerts
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E-mail Xinhua, December 18, 2016
The sky was gray across much of north China on Saturday as at least 24 cities, including Beijing and Tianjin, have activated red alerts to address the pollution.
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Photo taken on Dec. 17, 2016 shows buildings enveloped in smog in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua] |
The measures include car restrictions on roads, suspension of construction and classes for kindergartens and primary schools as well as reduced emissions for factories.
Beijing, Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong are forecast to experience the most severe smog since autumn.
Beijing activated its first red alert for smog this winter as the air began to turn hazy on Friday, ending several days of blue sky.
Kindergartens and primary schools have been ordered to suspend classes from Monday to Wednesday in Beijing due to the persistent heavy smog. All road construction and maintenance sites have been ordered to stop work.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, the PM2.5 density exceeded 200 in the downtown areas of the capital, indicating heavily polluted air, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.
Beijing's environmental and housing authorities have strengthened inspection of vehicles, construction sites and factories, punishing those that fail to meet the requirements under the red alert.
The air quality index (AQI) readings at some sites in Tianjin, a northern port city neighboring Beijing, exceeded 300 on Saturday morning, indicating serious air pollution.
The PM2.5 readings were at high levels in many other cities in north China on Saturday. The current bout of smog is forecast to last until Thursday.
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