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Image: CHINA-ENVIRONMENT-SMOG

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Heavy Smog Hits North China

Thick smog engulfed 24 cities prompting the Chinese government to announce a "red alert".

/ 12 PHOTOS
Image: Air pollution in Beijing

Haze over the Forbidden City in Beijing, on Dec. 19.

 

— WU HONG / EPA
Image: Heavy Smog Hit North China

Pedestrians wearing masks walk along a street engulfed by heavy smog in Dalian, on Dec. 19.

— VCG / Getty Images
Image: Air pollution in Beijing

A Chinese girl wears a mask at Jingshan Park in Beijing, Dec. 19. The haze covered an area of about 1.42 million square kilometers the day before. 

 

— WU HONG / EPA
Image: A woman sits on the back of a motorcycle in smog during a polluted day in Liaocheng

A woman sits on the back of a motorcycle in Liaocheng, Shandong province, China, on Dec. 19.

— CHINA STRINGER NETWORK / Reuters
Image: Chinese paramilitary policemen wearing masks for protection against pollution

Chinese paramilitary policemen wear masks for protection as they march in the capital city in Beijing, on Dec. 19.

 

Chinese cities are also limiting the number of cars on roads.

 

— Andy Wong / AP
Image: A duck is seen at the Old Summer Palace in smog as a red alert issued for air pollution in Beijing

A duck swims past the Old Summer Palace on a polluted day in Beijing, on Dec. 17.

— JASON LEE / Reuters
Image: CHINA-ENVIRONMENT-SMOG

A pedestrian crosses a smog-shrouded street in Lianyungang, eastern China's Jiangsu province, on Dec. 19.

 

Hospital visits spiked, roads were closed and flights cancelled on Dec.19 as China choked under a vast cloud of toxic smog, with forecasters warning the worst was yet to come.

— STR / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Chinese people wearing masks for protection against pollution walk at Ritan Park

Chinese people wearing masks for protection against pollution walk at Ritan Park in Beijing, on Dec. 19.

— Andy Wong / AP
Image: CHINA-POLLUTION

Pedestrians walk on an overpass in Beijing, on Dec. 18. 

 

Beijing issued its first air pollution red alert for 2016 on December 15, with choking smog expected to cover the city and surrounding areas in north China until December 21. 

— WANG ZHAO / AFP - Getty Images
Image: A woman wearing mask walks along a bridge in smog during polluted day in Tianjin

A woman wearing a mask walks along a polluted bridge in Tianjin, on Dec. 19.

— CHINA STRINGER NETWORK / Reuters
Image: Chinese students put mask on stone lions to raise awareness of air pollution

A woman takes photos of lion sculptures that have their mouth covered by masks in Xi'an Fine Art College in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on December 12. Several art students spent the night putting masks on more than 800 stone hitching posts to raise awareness of air pollution.  

 

"The smog has serious repercussions on the lungs and the respiratory system, and it also influences the health of future generations, so under a red alert, it is safer to stay at home rather than go to school," said Li Jingren, a 15-year-old high school student in Beijing.

 

Related:Plants Closed, Cars Stopped as China Faces Smog 'Red Alert'

 

 

 

— STR / EPA
Image: Buildings are seen in heavy smog in Harbin

Buildings are seen in heavy smog in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Dec. 17.
— CHINA STRINGER NETWORK / Reuters
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