Smog in North China to spike on Tuesday

Beijing has issued a blue alert for severe air pollution, which is forecast to peak on Tuesday and ease that night, the city's environmental authority said on Monday.

Air quality is expected to worsen to its second-worst level in Beijing.

Air will be bad all over North China, but pollution will be especially heavy in the city's southern districts because of geography and proximity to polluting industries, the municipal environmental monitoring center said on Monday.