China cracks down on factories as it battles pollution

BEIJING: Heavy smog shrouding the Chinese capital and 71 other cities for the past five days is set to get worse in the next few days while the government has dispatched 40,000 officials to inspect violations by factories flaunting warnings to halt operations.

A total of 72 Chinese cities including Beijing have issued yellow, orange and red smog alerts, official media reported quoting the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).

The ministry said its rectification measures have not yet been fully implemented and some enterprises in cities severely affected by smog have performed poorly in emissions reduction evaluations.

Ten teams, consisting of 40,000 personnel from multiple levels of government, have reportedly been mobilised to inspect over 30,000 enterprises and construction sites, as well as 60,000 vehicles across the country, state-run People's Daily reported.

More than a dozen cities including Beijing, Tianjin and others in neighbouring Hebei province will see smog elevated to dangerous levels from January 3 to 7, the report said.

The severe pollution will persist in some cities, while the overall situation improves, the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre said.

About 500 violations have been discovered so far, along with more than 10,000 vehicles illegally on the road, it said.

Meanwhile, different cities are taking measures to ensure children's education is not disrupted due to closure of schools.

Some schools organised live-streaming classes for students at home in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Xi'an City sounded red alert for heavy air pollution at 6 PM on Sunday, requiring all schools and kindergartens to suspend classes.

Ongoing heavy smog in large parts of China is disrupting schools and causing holiday travel problems.

China has a four-tier alert system for pollution, with red the highest, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

According to an urgent notice issued by the city's educational bureau, primary and high schools may use weekends or holidays to make up the missing classes.

In neighbouring Shandong Province, the provincial weather station yesterday issued orange alerts for fog and smog that has led to visibility of less than 200 meters in 11 cities in the province.

Around 50 flights were affected in the provincial capital Jinan as of 10 AM.

Nearly 300 toll gates along 30 expressways have been closed, according to the provincial transport department.

Heavy fog was also seen in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, stranding over 8,000 passengers at the airport.

A runway at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport was closed for four hours, leaving over 80 flights delayed and seven canceled.