Beijing issues first orange air pollution alert of the autumn season, China

Beijing’s meteorological authority has issued an orange air pollution alert for the next four days, the first severe smog warning since the capital city entered the autumn season.

The heavy pollution emergency response headquarters said that the alert, the second highest of its kind, will come into effect on Saturday, November 4 and end on November 8, China News Service reports.

The environmental authority has banned high-emission petrol cars and earth-stone construction operations, and suggested that kindergartens, as well as primary and middle schools, suspend outdoor activities, the GBTimes reported.

According to projections from the Environmental Protection Ministry's monitoring center, most of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is expected to see heavy air pollution between Saturday and next Tuesday, with some cities, including Beijing and Tianjin, being smothered by severe smog. PM2.5 density will also soar to 250 microgrammes per cubic meter around November 6.

Severe air pollution was also recorded in five cities in Heilongjiang province in northeast China on Friday. Among them was Shuangyashan on the border with Russia, which had the worst pollution in the country on Friday, SCMP said. The city had an air quality index of 476, a level deemed hazardous to health. Readings over 300 usually lead to a warning to avoid all exercise outdoors.

Another mining city in the province, Qitaihe, recorded the second-highest level of air pollution in China on Friday, posting 413 on its air quality index, followed by Jiamusi at 390, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Featured image: Beijing has issued an orange air pollution alert for the next four days. Credit: China News Service