MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Over 20 cities in northern China, including the country's capital Beijing and the city of Tianjin, have restricted the number of vehicles on roads amid heavy smog, media reported on Monday.
According to the Xinhua news agency, local authorities in Hebei, Henan and Shandong provinces, introduced a range of pollution reduction measures, including the vehicle restrictions, after Beijing authorities issued a red smog alert for December 17-21.
In 2013, China introduced a four-tier air pollution warning system, according to which, a red alert is issued when heavy smog lasts for more than three days, an orange alert for three days of smog, a yellow for two, and a blue for one.
China's extended use of coal for power generation has caused Beijing, as well as other Chinese cities, to suffer from heavy air pollution. The situation is being worsened due to the use of the old cars.
