Chinese cities issue traffic bans, close factories amid pollution 'red alert'

BEIJING, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Air pollution intensified Monday in northern China as the workweek began with the closure of factories, restricted driving and closed schools.

More than 20 cities have issued "red alerts" that will remain in effect through Wednesday, China's Xinhua news agency reported. Since Thursday, the smog has hovered over Beijing, Tianjin and provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandong. It is forecast to clear this Thursday.

More than 700 companies halted production in Beijing, the nation's capital.

Authorities in Tianjin and Beijing increased public transportation capacity as cars were ordered to run on alternate days for five days until midnight Wednesday.

At Tianjin airport, service was suspended from 8:30 p.m. Sunday to 10 a.m. Monday, cancelling 131 flights and delaying another 75. Schools throughout the country were closed.

"The smog has serious repercussions on the lungs and the respiratory system, and it also influences the health of future generations, so, under a red alert, it is safer to stay at home rather than go to school," said Li Jingren, a 15-year-old high school student in Beijing, said to the Evening Standard.

Hospitals were dealing with breathing-related illnesses. In the port city of Tianjin, less than 100 miles southeast of Beijing, there was an increase in asthma and other respiratory issues.

In Shandong, more than 100 toll gates on four expressways were closed and some flights were delayed by more than two hours.

The Air Quality Index that measures the concentration of particles in the air, known as PM 2.5, exceeded 500 micrograms per cubic meter Monday in many cities in northern China, mainly in Hebei and Henan. The World Health Organization has said the maximum safe level for humans over a 24-hour period is 25. AQI levels were over 400 in Beijing during two days in November.

Earlier this month, Beijing authorities drafted the Beijing Meteorological Disasters Prevention and Control Regulations. It included haze as a meteorological disaster.

"Meteorological disasters are caused by natural conditions and cannot be controlled by human activity," Zhang Zitai, a Fudan University professor, told China's Legal Daily. "Smog, on the other hand, is mainly caused by human activity. Thus the plan to list it as a meteorological disaster not only goes against science, it will also create an excuse for polluters to escape their culpability."

Much of the pollution has been attributed to coal burning for electricity. It's usually worse in the winter as energy use rises.

In September, China decided to formally ratify the Paris Agreement to combat climate change.