BEIJING: Heavy smog that blanketed parts of China at the weekend cleared somewhat on Monday, with flights in Beijing back to normal, but it was likely only to be a brief respite with more choking smog expected to return to the wintry north within 24 hours.
Weather forecasts on Monday showed the smog would return to Beijing and nearby Tianjin city from Tuesday. It was expected to persist until Thursday in Hebei, the heavily industrialised province that surrounds the capital, and Henan and Shandong provinces as the region battles freezing temperatures.
Authorities have been issuing smog alerts across the north since mid-December, prompting orders for hundreds of factories to scale back production or close outright and for restrictions on motorists to cut emissions.
Pollution alerts are common in northern China, especially during winter when energy demand, much of it met by coal, soars.
A pollution index that measures the average concentration of small breathable particles, known as PM2.5, dropped to just over 100 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing early on Monday from more than 500 on Sunday night.
