China issues pollution alert in capital Beijing
Authorities in the Chinese capital Beijing have issued an emergency pollution alert, warning residents not to leave their homes.
The warning came on Friday and the alert urged factories to cut production and asked for construction sites to stop work.
The pollution alert is the second most severe on the country’s four-color scheme, meaning pollution levels are very bad for health.
The pollution alert comes as heavy smog is forecast to remain over the capital, its neighbors Tianjin and Hebei Province, as well as central and western Shandong Province for a week, according to a joint weather forecast issued by the China Meteorological Administration and the country’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Authorities on Thursday morning registered Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Air Quality Index readings above 115 micrograms per cubic meter in the affected regions, which is far more than the 25 micrograms level considered safe by the World Health Organization.
By Thursday evening, the PM2.5 index level in the capital’s downtown areas exceeded 250, according to the Beijing municipal environmental monitoring center.
Last weekend, the US Embassy in Beijing said air pollution had reached dangerous levels in the Chinese capital and issued its own warning.
Pollution levels in Chinese cities in recent years have shot up due to increased car ownership and growing industrial production.
Last year, China announced it would spend 1.7 trillion yuan, or USD 277 billion, in a bid to tackle air pollution. The vast sum of money is planned to be invested over a period of five years.
