BEIJING issued its first-ever red alert for pollution yesterday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city today.

    The red alert — the most serious warning on a four-tier system adopted in recent years — was announced late yesterday. It means authorities have forecast more than three consecutive days of severe smog.

    The alert will last from 7 a.m. today to 12 p.m. Thursday.

    Readings of PM2.5 particles climbed toward 300 micrograms per cubic meter, compared with the World Health Organization’s safe level of 25.

    The heavy smog isn’t expected to improve until Thursday as a cold front arrives, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.

    From this morning, half of Beijing’s private cars will be ordered off the road, with an odd-even number plate system in force and 30 percent of government vehicles also garaged.

    High-polluting factories and construction sites will also have to cease operations, the capital’s environmental protection bureau said on its social media account, with fireworks and barbecues also banned.

    “People should reduce outdoor activities as much as possible,” it said. “If you are engaging in outdoor activities you should wear a mask or take other protective measures.”

    Kindergartens, primary and middle schools were urged to close, it added, without explicitly making the measures mandatory.

    This is the first time Beijing has issued a red alert for smog since 2013 when Beijing adopted an emergency response program for air pollution.

    The red alert came a week after a thick grey haze shrouded the capital with concentrations of PM2.5, harmful microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs.

    PM2.5 levels were 187 micrograms per cubic meter last night, according to local authorities. But visibility was significantly better than the previous week.

    The smog also coincided with global climate change talks in Paris, where President Xi Jinping has vowed action on greenhouse emissions.

    Most of China’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of coal for electricity and heating, which spikes when demand peaks in winter and is the main cause of smog.

    China has promised to reduce coal consumption by 100 million tons annually by 2020 — a small fraction of the 4.2 billion tons it consumed in 2012 — and cut 60 percent of major pollutants from coal-fired power plants.

    (SD-Xinhua)