Heavy smog forecast for North China

Heavy smog is forecast for North China over the next 10 days, the national weather authority announced on Friday. 

Residents of Beijing, Tianjin and cities in southern Hebei province will be affected by smog on Saturday that should clear by Sunday, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

However, some cities may experience severe smog all weekend. 

These regions are also forecast to be affected by smog from Dec 10 to 12, said Zhang Zuqiang, a spokesman for the weather authority.  

A cold spell from Sunday onward should disperse some of the accumulated air pollutants and is expected to reduce temperatures by up to 12 C.

A second cold front is forecast from Dec 6, bringing cold winds and temperature reductions of between 4 to 6 C.

Zhang said northern, central and eastern regions were prone to smoggy days in December, so the administration has warned the public to better prepare themselves for increased air pollutants.

He added that China had experienced a wetter and warmer autumn than average this year. 

Average rainfall this autumn was 164.4 millimeters, the most since 1951, while the average temperature was 10.4 C, 0.5 C higher than recent averages.