Moderate to heavy air pollution was expected in the Bejing-Tianjin-Hebei area and surrounding cities until Thursday, with short bouts of severe conditions, the environment ministry said after a meeting of its agencies.
While the north of the region will improve in the first half of this month, pollution may persist in southern areas, it said.
“The overall environment is getting better these years but in recent days the smog has come back. We’re not sure what’s exactly causing it,” said an 82-year-old Beijing resident surnamed Liu.
Unusually mild winter temperatures, with some places recording 10 degrees Celsius above normal, were likely to persist until Thursday, forecasters said, with records likely to be broken in big cities such as Jinan, Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang.
But from Thursday night, cold air is expected to push temperatures lower, possibly to new lows.
Source: CNA
