Red Alert for Severe Smog in N. China

Severe smog plagues N. China, triggers ‘red alert’ in Beijing, 22 other cities 

The red alert will be activated at 8 p.m. Friday for Beijing and 22 other cities and is expected to last through December 21, according to government media.

Taiyuan, the provincial capital of north China’s coal-rich Shanxi province, has also issued a red alert for severe air pollution, and will activate emergency measures at midnight Friday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said another 20 cities including Shijiazhuang, Tianjin and Zhengzhou were expected to issue red alerts, with nine others on orange alert.