'Hordes of people in Beijing fleeing to escape pollution'

Hordes of residents of China's capital are "fleeing" to south in pursuit of cleaner air after the year's worst smog prompted authorities to issue a national "red alert", according to a media report.
This year's first red alert for air pollution till December 21 was issued in several northern cities, including Beijing, last Thursday, after thick choking smog was forecast to blanket much of the north until Wednesday.
Air pollution worsened today in many parts of northern China, with poor visibility disrupting air and ground traffic.
At least 23 cities in the world's most populous nation have issued red alerts for air pollution since Friday.

Tianjin airport said that from 8:30 pm Sunday to 10 am Monday they suspended service, leaving 131 flights canceled and 75 delayed, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, all expressways in the northern municipality of Tianjin remain closed.

Local authorities in Tianjin increased public transport capacity by 15 per cent to accommodate passengers as cars have been ordered to run on alternate days for five days until midnight Wednesday.
Beijing also increased its public transport and implemented the same odd-even number plate rule.
Hordes of Beijing residents are fleeing China's capital, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today.
Searches made on the travel website for tickets on flights to inland areas in the west and coastal areas in the east of the country were three times higher than before the red alert was issued, the Post quoted Beijing Evening News as saying.

The report quoted a man saying that he had immediately booked tickets for a five-day trip to Hainan province's seaside resort of Sanya after learning that schools would be closed until Wednesday.
Another report issued over the weekend estimated that 150,000 people in China would travel overseas to avoid the choking smog in December, and that each year more than one million tourists travelled abroad for that reason, it said.
Residents in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Tianjin are those who travel the most to avoid the smog at home, it said.