China’s environmental regulator has asked authorities in some northern provinces to take measures to reduce emissions, as air pollution is expected to continue next week. Northern provinces including Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan are required to take actions based on local air quality forecasts, according to a statement from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Friday, which didn’t specify what the measures will be.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas will see medium-to-heavy air pollution during Nov. 14-17, the ministry said. Some cities have already experienced air pollution this week due to unfavorable weather conditions and increased emissions from heating services and recovering industrial production, it said. Output in some sectors — including iron and steel, coke and non-ferrous metals — have exceeded levels seen during the same period in previous years, the ministry said.