Beijing's 2nd red alert for smog to last 4 days

Beijing issued its second red alert for smog, the highest-level warning, on Friday as the national weather authorities said that more smoggy days are ahead due to higher temperatures and a lack of snow this winter.

Heavy smog is forecast to blanket Beijing on Saturday and is expected to last for four days, forcing the government to adopt the strictest measures to ease pollution. These include reducing by half the number of vehicles on the roads based on odd and even license plate numbers and shutting down industrial operations.

Wang Bin, head of the Emergency Response Department of the Beijing Bureau of Environmental Protection, said emergency measures will be in effect from 7 am on Saturday until midnight on Tuesday.