Beijing factories urged to stop work to fight haze

Chinese authorities have urged over 2,000 factories in capital Beijing to suspend their production as the air quality has deteriorated to the most severe readings in the country's northern regions, the media reported on Tuesday.

It also ordered all construction sites to stop work as well to cut emissions, after issuing an orange alert, the second-highest response to air pollution, the People's Daily reported.

The ministry of environmental protection has sent several inspection teams to supervise the implementation, saying on Monday that at least 11 construction sites and cement-making plants continued to work despite the restriction.

Ignoring the suspension order can result in punishment including hefty fines. The inspection teams will strengthen their monitoring on Tuesday, to further cut emissions to control the deterioration of air quality.

The air quality index in many cities, including Beijing and Langfang and Baoding in Hebei province, reached the top reading of 500 on Monday, meaning air pollution had reached the most severe level.

The concentration of PM2.5-particulate matter with diameter of less than 2.5 microns that can penetrate the lungs and harm health reached 945 micrograms per cubic metre in some monitoring stations in southern Beijing.

The readings far exceeded the national standard of 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

Heavy smog has persisted in the northern region since last week and might continue until Wednesday, the ministry added.