Beijing has issued
a yellow alert for heavy air pollution that took effect from Sunday, local
authorities said. A series of measures will be taken from Sunday, including the
suspension of a number of outdoor construction operations, and halting or
restricting production by manufacturing companies, according to the municipal
air pollution emergency response office. The air quality of the Chinese
capital, which was once one of the most polluted cities on the planet, is
expected to gradually improve on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency. Under
China's four-tier warning system for air pollution, red is the most severe,
followed by orange, yellow and blue. According to the UN, Beijing began an
intensified air pollution control programme in 1998, and over the last 20 years
the city has implemented a series of measures including energy infrastructure
optimization, coal-fired pollution control and vehicle emission controls. In
the five years from 2013 to 2017, fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) in Beijing
fell by 35 per cent and by 25 per cent in surrounding regions. (IANS)