A man wears a mask to protect against the pollution as he takes a selfie in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015.
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Under the red alert, kindergartens, primary and high schools were closed, vehicle use was restricted with odd and even number plates and outdoor operations of construction sites halted.
Schools restarted and the streets opened to all traffic on schedule from midday, after the predicted arrival of a cold front overnight that blew away the worst of the pollution.
However, at 6 am, the PM2.5 reading was 216 microgram per cubic metre at the hazardous level, according to the municipal environmental monitoring station, the report said.
The World Health Organization’s recommended maximum exposure is 25.
The restrictions were effective in mitigating the pollution, state-run news agency Xinhua said.
On Thursday, the air quality had improved to a moderate level from previously hazardous levels, according to the US Embassy’s air quality index.
“Handan was particularly grave”.
Meteorologists expect heavy smog to once shroud the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area over the weekend because of the lack of winds, Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. Those cities with serious haze recorded more frequent searches for sportswear, as residents have a stronger willingness to exercise outside once the air gets cleaner.
The miasma came as President Xi Jinping attended a critical meeting on climate change in Paris, a potentially embarrassing coincidence that underscored China’s struggle to control the pollution that contributes to both its chronic smog and global warming.
Earlier this month, China’s meteorological bureau said it expected at least one and possibly two more bouts of heavy pollution in December.
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The Chinese capital Beijing has been blanketed by smog so dense it led to the announcement of the first ever red alert and the warning will stay till the 10th of December.
