Smog in China closes schools and construction sites, cuts traffic in Beijing

Much of the Chinese capital shut down Tuesday after Beijing’s city government issued its first red alert for pollution, closing schools and construction sites and restricting the number of cars on the road.

Beijing’s Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection warned that severe pollution would affect the Chinese capital for several days, starting Tuesday morning.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the air quality index stood at 250 Tuesday morning, classed as “very unhealthy” and 10 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels.

Gao Yuanli, 35, told CNN that the smog often made her life difficult.

She wears face masks on most winter days, and she bought an air purifier two years ago, she said.

“I can’t go out on weekends now if the air is bad, and I don’t go to outdoor markets anymore,” she said.

The alert means extra measures will be enforced.

Car use is being cut in half by having only odd- or even-numbered license plates on the road at any one time. Heavy vehicles, including garbage trucks, are banned from the streets.

Other polluting industrial activity has been curbed, as have fireworks and outdoor barbecuing.

This week, Beijing issued its first red alert for hazardous pollution, closing schools, restricting traffic and shutting construction sites. Residents tell CNN what it's like to live in the smog-cloaked city.

Beijing smog: What's it like to breathe the air?

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The red alert – the highest level in the system – is due to be in force until noon Thursday local time.

The city’s roads and sidewalks were much quieter than usual Tuesday, and small-business owners like Jia Xiaojiang, who makes egg pancakes, complained of fewer customers.

Jia doesn’t wear face masks but says the pollution has caused her respiratory distress.

“The smog is like toxic gas,” she said. “I never had a sore throat before. Starting from last year, my throat hurts once I speak.”

READ: Artist turns pollution into bricks

Disruption

The red alert caused disruption for some parents, who had to scramble Monday evening to find alternative childcare arrangements. Li Ning, a 33-year-old IT worker, said his child was being looked after by grandparents.

CNN reporters in Beijing said the pollution didn’t feel as severe as last week, when air quality, as measured by the U.S. Embassy, went above 500 or “beyond index” Monday and Tuesday.

Some residents have questioned why the unprecedented red alert level was not issued then. But others are resigned to living with pollution that is regularly 10 times worse than recommended levels.

“I’d find a day when the sky is blue unusual,” said Wolf Hu.

He travels often for work, often preferring China’s high-speed rail network to flying, which is prone to smog-related delays – 12 outbound flights and 14 inbound flights into the city were canceled Tuesday.

Visitors, some wearing masks to protect themselves from pollutants, share a light moment as they take a selfie at the Jingshan Park on a polluted day in Beijing on December 7, 2015, the day Beijing's city government issued its first red alert for pollution, the highest level of warning.

A woman walks along a path at a park in Beijing on December 7. Smog is blurring the view of the buildings in the background.

A mask-wearing vendor awaits customers at the Jingshan Park on a polluted day in Beijing on December 7.

Tiananmen Gate stands shrouded with heavy pollution and fog in Beijing on December 1, 2015. Previously under an orange alert, the second-highest warning level, the Chinese capital enters yet another week choked by toxic smog under the newly issued red alert -- due to be in force until noon of December 10 local time.

A Chinese woman protects herself with a mask as she walks past Tiananmen Square in smog-hit Beijing on November 30, 2015. Levels of PM 2.5, considered the most hazardous pollutant, crossed 600 units in Beijing, nearly 25 times the acceptable standard set by the World Health Organization.

Buildings are shrouded by heavily polluted haze in Beijing on November 30. China's capital and neighboring regions have seen the worst smog of the year this week.

Roads and buildings in Baoding, China's most polluted city, are cloaked in thick smog on November 30, where the air quality index (AQI) has reached a 'hazardous' level.

A woman protects herself from pollutants with a piece of cloth as she walks past a construction site on November 30 in Beijing.

Residential blocks are cloaked in smog in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on November 30.

Vehicles drive along a highway in Beijing with a traffic sign that reads "Slow down, low visibility" on November 30.

A Genghis Khan statue is obscured by a cloak of orange-tinged smog on November 29, 2015 in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia, China.

The pollution cast an apocalyptic glow over the pagodas on the streets of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia on November 29.

People wearing face masks walk across Tiananmen Square in Beijing on November 28.

The top photo taken from CNN's Beijing Bureau, shows the city shrouded in smog on November 27, 2015, and the same view on a blue sky day just the day before.

Chinese cities choke on smog

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According to the state-run news agency Xinhua, a red smog alert is issued only when heavy pollution is expected to last longer than 72 hours.

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It aims to cut is peak emissions in half by 2030.

Most of the country’s carbon emissions come from burning coal to heat homes and fuel power plants, a practice that spikes during winter months.

Can China’s most polluted city lead a green energy revolution?

CNN’s Tim Hume, Bex Wright, Vivian Kam and Beijing intern Guanghong Hu contributed to this report.