New year to bring heavy smog to northern regions

Beijing has issued an orange pollution alert from Dec 30 to Jan 1

Just in time to see in the new year, another bout of smog is to descend on Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei, Henan and Shandong provinces, arriving on Friday and lasting for four to five days, the weather authority said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection issued notices to local governments on Wednesday night, asking them to take emergency measures to reduce the coming smog, while eight cities in Hebei, including Shijiazhuang, issued red alerts and Beijing issued an orange alert on Thursday.