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Beijing to halt construction as smog closes in just weeks after clearest skies in five years

Children and the elderly advised to stay indoors as pollution set to hit dangerous levels in coming days

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A woman uses a scarf to cover her face as she jogs through Beijing's central business district at noon on Friday. Authorities in the capital earlier issued the first smog alert of the year, saying air quality in the city was set to slump over the coming days. Photo: Simon Song
After reporting its best winter air quality for five years in December, Beijing said on Friday it is gearing up for its first major smog of the year.
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Heavy pollution is set to engulf the Chinese capital and the neighbouring region – comprising the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan, and the port city of Tianjin – from today until Wednesday, the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre said.

An orange smog alert, the second-highest in a four-tier system, will come into effect in Beijing on Saturday and remain in place until Monday, the municipal environmental protection bureau said.

Under the terms of the city’s air pollution emergency response plan, an orange alert is issued when the average air quality index is forecast to surpass 200 for three consecutive days and 300 on at least one of those days.

The move also means that all construction work in the capital will be suspended and construction vehicles will be banned from the city’s streets.

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