Beijing Maintains Orange Alert For Heavy Smog

Beijing on Sunday issued an "orange" pollution alert and has maintained the alert today. Heavy smog has covered the capital and is likely to affect all activities in the region. The authorities are closing highways, construction activities and urging residents to minimize outdoor activities and to stay indoors, Reuters reported.

Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau introduced four types of pollution alerts - blue, yellow, orange and red in March, red being the most hazardous level. RT says that all factories are to be shut down during orange alerts, along with complete ban of heavy vehicles, such as construction trucks, during orange and red alerts.

South China Morning Post reported that according to Aqicn.org,  a Beijing real-time air-quality monitoring website, on Saturday peak readings of PM 2.5 (airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that cause smog) had reached 464 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing's Yongdingmen area at 1pm.

The particle level dropped below 200 on Sunday but was still significantly higher than the “safe” levels. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 25 micrograms is considered to be a safe level, RT pointed out.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said that "unfavorable" weather has caused the suffocating pollution. The ministry said the number of cities affected by heavy pollution now stands at 23, however a cold front starting on Wednesday would see improvement in the situation.

Reuters reported that following a number of smog outbreaks in Beijing and surrounding areas, China launched a "war on pollution" in 2014. The country has vowed to reduce coal consumption and close down polluting industrial capacity. However, environmental officials admit that China is unlikely to “meet state air quality standards until at least 2030.”