SHIJIAZHUANG in North China’s Hebei Province issued a red alert for heavy air pollution from 7 a.m. Monday, urging factories and construction sites to reduce emissions so that the pollution might be mitigated.

The conditions for diffusion in the city have deteriorated, and pollutants have continued to accumulate since Sunday, leading to potential moderate to severe air pollution, said a notice by the city’s office of emergency command on heavy pollution weather.

Under China’s four-tier warning system for air pollution, red is the most severe.

According to Wang Xiaoli, director of the Warning Center for Emergency and Heavy Pollution Weather at Hebei Provincial Ecology and Environment Department, the alerts are issued about 48 hours before the predicted heavy pollution, so that emergency measures can be carried out.

“The joint prevention and control in the northern region will also help reduce the pollution,” Wang said, adding that multiple cities will take active measures to mitigate the pollution at the same time.

In accordance with the red alert, only certain vehicles are permitted on the road.

The neighboring city of Baoding has also taken the same measures for Monday to Sunday.

In Shijiazhuang, construction sites have been ordered to suspend activities that cause heavy dust including demolitions and concrete mixing. All air-related industrial enterprises are required to implement differentiated emission reduction measures.

Wang said the province has taken concerted measures in the past decade to curb air pollution, which have led to significant progress in recent years. (China Daily)