THE Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory raised the alert for haze to the orange level for Futian, Nanshan, Luohu, Minzhi in Long-hua, and Xixiang in Bao’an at 2:45 p.m. Thursday, indicating the air quality would worsen within the next six hours.

    The city has a three-tier warning system for haze, with red being the most serious, followed by orange and yellow. Once the orange alert is issued, kindergarten and primary school students are advised to avoid outdoor activities.

    The air quality index Thursday reached Level 5 of the six-level rating system, indicating pollutants in the air couldn’t be easily dispersed under present meteorological conditions.(Richard Han)