Center warns of heavy pollution in Beijing

Air pollution was medium in urban areas of Beijing yesterday, but the city is expecting heavy pollution in southern districts today, according to the municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.

The average reading of the Air Pollution Index (API) in southern Beijing, including Tongzhou, Daxing, Mentougou and Fangshang districts is expected to reach 300 to 355 from 8 am to 8 pm today, according to the center. The central four districts, Chaoyang, Dongcheng, Xicheng and Haidian will have medium pollution with API readings of 225 to 245, while areas like Huairou and Yanqing counties will be slightly polluted.

At 9 am yesterday, the PM10 (particulate matter smaller than 10 microns) data in most monitoring stations at six urban districts, reached more than 350 micrograms per cubic meter, and it read 522 micrograms per cubic meter at a Haidian station.

"The air is dirty and foggy. My throat is itching, maybe because of pollution," said Li Jianfeng, a Haidian resident.

Fog has enveloped Beijing since Tuesday, but it will disperse tomorrow, when the air quality will improve, said Sun Jisong, chief weather forecaster at the Beijing meteorological bureau.

The fog has resulted in low visibility, and warnings were released yesterday, as visibility in parts of Beijing was less than 500 meters. As the Spring Festival travel rush reaches a peak today and tomorrow, the fog will seriously affect traffic and travelers heading home.

The temperature will drop if the forecast snowfall occurs, and the cold weather will clear the air, Sun said.