BEIJING, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Chinese officials said they are working to improve municipal responses to severe air pollution in the wake of several days of choking smog hanging over Beijing.
The Chinese government has thus far declined to declare a red alert, the highest level of environmental alerts under the nation's four-tiered system. Doing so would empower government officials to implement an even-odd system for vehicle use, as well as shutter pollution-producing factories until air quality improved.