MOSCOW, January 4 (Sputnik) – Severe smog threatens to further blanket China’s northern regions, Xinhua reports, citing the country’s National Meteorological Center (NMC).
According to the principal meteorological agency, medium to severe smog is likely to shroud the regions of Beijing, Tianjin and the adjacent Hebei Province. Smoggy weather is also forecasted to engulf provinces of Jiangsu and Sichuan.
"@chinaorgcn: Beijing #Marathon starts off in #smog http://t.co/pkJJCahKew pic.twitter.com/Lhgz8omI39" ~ #China
— LiShuhui (@LiShuhui) 19 октября 2014
Authorities have declared a yellow alert, which is the third warning grade out of four weather alert levels.
A day without your mask is a day lost at the end of your life;) #ChineseProverb #Beijing #smog #China pic.twitter.com/Do8ZtdmwTg
— Edward Lemming (@DutchLemming) 16 декабря 2014
Fortunately, the smog, which has been affecting the northern part of China since Saturday, will be dispersed by a powerful cold front on Monday, Xinhua says.
Smog, a mixture of vehicular emissions, fog, coal burning and industrial fumes, is a serious problem for industrially rich China. According to The Atlantic, “40 percent of global air pollution deaths are in China”.
Fashion in smog: China Fashion Week presents creation featuring facial mask http://t.co/FWsiOGb3FM pic.twitter.com/zr8VABPJFM
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 29 октября 2014
As National Geographic stated, “life expectancy in northern China was 5.5 years shorter than in southern China in the 1990s, and a health risk disparity lingers today” significantly due to heart and lung diseases caused by air pollution.