Severely polluted areas in China on orange alert; authorities fretted

New Delhi: Authorities in China have issued an orange alert in some areas of the northern part including capital Beijing for air pollution early on Sunday.

Heavy smog has been witnessed in many areas of China including the capital city Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi.

Earlier, Beijing witnessed an orange alert for three days starting December 1 midnight, cancelling outdoor activities in schools and construction projects in the smog-hit city.

Central and southern Hebei will see PM2.5 density higher than 500 micrograms per cubic meter in air with visibility reduced to less than 200 meters, said the NMC.

China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

An orange alert means heavy pollution - PM2.5 density of higher than 150 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

(With PTI pollution)