Smog to make a comeback this week

Beijing will witness another two days of heavy air pollution this week, the municipal environmental watchdog said on Monday.

On Nov 26 and Nov 29, the capital is expected to see smog that could reach the top two levels, said Zhang Dawei, director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, on Monday afternoon.

As there will be no wind on these two days, the accumulated air pollutants are unlikely to disperse, he said.

The consumption of coal would be a major contributor of the air pollutants as many heating boilers use coal in winter in the capital.

A cold wind from the north will clear the sky from Nov 30, providing relief to residents, Zhang said.

The municipal government departments will carry out joint efforts to control the emission from coal consumption, vehicle exhaust, and industrial production on the heavily polluted days.

For instance, the Beijing municipal environmental department will strengthen the routine supervision of coal consumption by launching a special campaign targeted at boilers providing heating during the period.

In addition, Beijing has alerted its neighboring provinces, such as Tianjin and Hebei, about the impending smog.