Forecast calls for clearer winter skies

Inspection teams will be sent to 28 major cities to monitor actions

Residents in the smog-plagued northern region are expected to experience more days with good air quality in autumn and winter because of the harsh restrictions on emissions that came into effect on Friday, the top environmental authority said.

"China has enacted tougher controls against air pollution, decreasing the rate that airborne pollutants are being emitted," Liu Bingjiang, head of the air quality management bureau at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said on Friday.