Beijing on red alert again as second wave of smog rolls in to blanket city

Beijing has issued its second ever red alert as millions of Chinese were braced for a fresh wave of choking smog to hit this weekend. The smog would stretch from Xian, across part of central China, through Beijing and up into Shenyang and Harbin in the country’s frigid northeast, China’s Meteorological Administration said on Friday. The area would “get heavy air pollution”, the administration added. Beijing’s red alert warning, however, came as the Chinese capital enjoyed clear blue skies on Friday.

I really don’t know what the government is doing? It can predict the smog but not take the appropriate measures beforehand, rather it’s letting the smog harm citizens

Weibo user Beijingpuer

The air pollution is expected to begin rolling in from Saturday evening and will last until Tuesday. Visibility in the worst affected areas, such as Beijing, is likely to fall to less than 1km, and possibly even less than 200m in some areas. The pollution index will probably exceed 500 in Beijing and parts of Hebei province, which surrounds the capital. Residents are encouraged to remain indoors at levels higher than 300, according to government guidelines. The Beijing city government issued its first “red alert” last week

For us who commute to work it’s not so bad but still I’m very concerned about the pollution. I think the government needs to put more effort into solving this.

Beijing resident Cheng Xianke

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