THE sky was gray across much of North China on Saturday as at least 24 cities, including Beijing and Tianjin, have activated red alerts to address the pollution.

    The measures include car restrictions on roads, suspension of construction and classes for kindergartens and primary schools as well as reduced emissions for factories.

    Beijing, Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong are experiencing the most severe smog since autumn.

    Beijing activated its first red alert for smog this winter as the air began to turn hazy Friday, ending several days of blue sky. A red alert is the highest level of a four-tier warning system introduced by the government in December last year as part of China’s high-profile war on pollution.

    Kindergartens and primary schools have been ordered to suspend classes from Monday to Wednesday in Beijing due to the persistent heavy smog. All road construction and maintenance sites have been ordered to stop work.

    At 1 p.m. Saturday, the PM2.5 density exceeded 200 in the downtown areas of the capital, indicating heavily polluted air, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.

    Beijing’s environmental and housing authorities have strengthened inspection of vehicles, construction sites and factories, punishing those that fail to meet the requirements under the red alert.

    The air quality index (AQI) readings at some sites in Tianjin, a northern port city neighboring Beijing, exceeded 300 Saturday morning, indicating serious air pollution.

    The PM2.5 readings were at high levels in many other cities in North China on Saturday. The current bout of smog is forecast to last until Thursday.

    An inconvenient life

    The heavy smog has led many to stay at home over the weekend.

    “We canceled a planned weekend trip to Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province to ski with friends due to car restrictions,” said Wang Di, a resident who lives in Beijing. He said he plans to buy an electric car as soon as possible to avoid delaying plans on smoggy days.

    “I would rather stay at home as the air will continue to be bad in the coming days,” said a retired woman in Tianjin. She did not do her outdoor morning exercises and even bought fruits and vegetables to last until next week after she learned about the red alert.

    Another Tianjin citizen, surnamed Wang, said he had to cancel his plans to play football during the weekend due to the pollution.

    Government measures

    Beijing environmental officials checked 19,000 vehicles and punished 18 drivers for excessive exhaust emissions. Some 116 outdoor barbecue and burning sites were closed in the capital Friday.

    Tianjin dispatched government inspection teams to check whether response measures have been implemented by companies, construction sites and drivers.

    Many concrete companies halted production in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province. Taiyuan, Linfen and two other cities in the coal-rich province have activated red alerts for smog.

    In November, Taiyuan ordered suspension of some construction projects and all concrete production and foundries until the end of this year to prevent smog.

    “Our company halted production and all of our 25 concrete mixers have halted operations since receiving a government notice Nov. 22,” said Cao Yihong, a manager of a concrete company in Taiyuan.

    Shanxi used drones for the first time Friday to monitor key pollution areas in Taiyuan, Lyuliang and Linfen.

    The use of drones will be routine in the future as drone monitoring will provide evidence for law enforcement, said an official with the Shanxi Environmental Protection Bureau.

    In Anyang City, Henan Province, where a red alert for smog is in force, 893 firms have halted production and 172 cut output. The city launched a campaign to tackle air pollution by adopting off-peak production for certain industries, such as foundries and stone processing, from November to Jan. 31 next year.

    Six cities in Henan and 10 cities in Hebei have issued red alerts for the current bout of smog.

    In a renewable industrial park in Dingzhou City, Hebei, more than 90 factories halted production last month due to pollutant emissions, actions that were in line with the province’s efforts to treat winter smog, said Liu Hongliang, an official with the park.

    A long-term challenge

    But Dong Liansai, a Beijing-based climate and energy campaigner for an environmental group, said coal-fired power stations were to blame for the unusually severe bout of pollution.

    “Coal is the No. 1 source,” said Dong, warning that the smog contained tiny airborne particulates known as PM2.5 which were linked to numerous “adverse health effects” including lung cancer, asthma and heart disease.

    Dong said the declaration of the red alert was a positive step that would help temporarily reduce emissions and pollution levels.

    “But this is only a short-term measure. If you want to solve the problem of air pollution then you really need to have a long-term policy,” the campaigner added. “And given that coal is the No. 1 source we really recommend a nationwide cap on coal consumption … that would help accelerate the transition away from coal.”

    Under a new government plan unveiled earlier this month, coal use in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and regions along the Pearl River Delta should drop by around 10 percent during the 2016-2020 period.

    Dong said the smog was “a reminder, after a period of improvement over the last few years, that there is still a lot to do in the future.”

    Speaking to the New York Times this week, Beijing-based environmentalist Ma Jun said China had made “huge progress” in tracking the sources of air pollution over the past decade and had also become much more transparent in releasing information about the blight.

    Local governments should publish lists of heavily polluting companies and factories and their pollution data for public oversight, said Ma.

    Dong urged residents of areas affected by the latest red alert to limit their exposure to the smog by staying indoors with air purifiers turned on if possible. “Try to minimize your outdoor activities and, if you really need to go out, wear a proper mask to protect yourself,” he said. (SD-Xinhua)