News / China

Chinese capital declares first-ever red alert for pollution

Monday, 07 December 2015 4:01 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 07 December 2015 4:00 PM ]

A woman wearing a face mask to protect herself from pollutants walks past office buildings shrouded with pollution haze in Beijing, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015. (AP Photo)

The Chinese capital, Beijing, has declared the highest air pollution level in an attempt to protect its citizens from a smog choking the city.

The Monday online notice from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau is the first time that red alert has been declared in the capital.

The alert is meant to "protect public health and reduce levels of heavy air pollution," the bureau added.

The warning means that the city will be shut down with schools closed and construction and other industrial work in the city being limited.

Poisonous particles readings jumped from PM2.5 toward 300 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday and are expected to continue rising before the air begins to improve with the arrival of a cold front on Thursday.

Officials have devised a raft of restrictions in an effort to reduce the amount of dust and other particulate matter in the city of 22.5 million.

From Tuesday morning, cars are limited to driving every other day depending on the last number of their license plate.

Polluting factories and construction sites will also have to cease operations. Fireworks and barbecues will also be banned. Kindergartens as well as primary and middle schools have been urged to close, but the measure is not mandatory. The red alert comes a week after a thick grey haze shrouded Beijing with high concentrations of harmful microscopic particles.

This photo dated November 19, 2015, shows smoke belching from one of China's coal-fired power stations near Datong (AFP Photo)

There have been stretches of severe smog in Beijing before. However, those had initially been forecast to last three days or less, so they did not warrant a red alert. The alert requires a smog forecast of more than 72 straight hours.

It is estimated that 1.4 million people each year die prematurely because of pollution in China.

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