Beijing issues major smog alert, third time in 3 months
Just a day after being named the top performer among 28 Chinese cities which took special measures to check pollution, Beijing has issued a three-day-long smog alert. This is the third smog alert issued by Beijing in 2018, and the second this month. The orange alert, the second-highest after red in a four-tier alert system, was issued by Beijing's environmental protection bureau on Saturday.
Factories have to limit output by 30-50%
The central part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is expected to see medium to heavy levels of pollution till Wednesday. An orange level alert imposes restrictions on production. For the duration of the alert, factories that manufacture furniture, cement and other heavy industrial products are supposed to limit their production output by 30-50%. More than 700 companies are affected by the alert in Beijing.
No red alerts have been issued in 2018 so far
Beijing issued two orange alerts earlier this year, the first running from 13th to 15th January, and the second running from 12th to 14th March. No red alerts have been issued so far this year. On Friday, the newly-formed Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that Beijing had achieved the highest reduction in average pollution among 28 Chinese cities between October 2017-February 2018.
