Beijing on Orange Alert, Heavy Smog Expected for Next 5 Days

Beijing has been issued its first orange alert (the second-highest alert in China's four-tier system) of the season. That's right, the capital is about to be bogged down in some heavy pollution for five whole days. 

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), the smog is expected to roll into the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region on Saturday and linger until Wednesday (Nov 8). The pollution will be the worst on Monday. 

Conditions are expected to improve on Tuesday or Wednesday, when a cold front will help to dissipate the smog.

READ MORE: Beijing Pollution Worsens Despite Massive Efforts to Reduce Smog

In September, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection stated that Beijing's smog season would likely arrive earlier this year and that it is “not optimistic” about the weather forecast for the fall and winter months.

The pollution in Beijing is exacerbated during the winter months when the coal-powered central heating is turned on. The heating in northern China will be switched on November 15.