Heavy smog to hit Beijing, neighbouring regions

##SMALL-IMAGE#Moderate to heavy air pollution is likely to affect central and southern parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region over the next three days in China, the government warned on Tuesday.

Parts of east China's Shandong Province and the central province of Henan will also be hit by smog during the period, the Environmental Protection ministry said, citing a forecast by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC).

On Monday, air pollution affected 100 of 338 cities monitored across the country. Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and east China's Anhui Province suffered the most.

Three cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region -- Beijing, Shijiazhuang and Hengshui -- were experiencing moderate air pollution while the air in the other 10 cities in the region was graded "good" or "light pollution".

China's capital was shrouded by air pollution nearly half of 2015 during which Beijing also issued its first-ever red alert against heavy smog that lead to closure of schools and restricted traffic, the Bureau had said in January.

Despite Beijing's attempts to limit air pollution, the capital saw only 186 days with air quality that met the national standard in 2015.