In a bid to address Beijing's worsening air pollution, local officials will create an "environmental police force" by the end of March.

This was announced by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau after the capital and other northern cities were once again covered by heavy smog, reported the China Daily.

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Aside from Beijing and Tianjin, smog also engulfed the northern and central regions of Hebei, Shandong and Henan.

According to Li Jianjun, director of the environmental pre-warning department at China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing's air pollution level is expected to worsen and may reach "hazardous levels" by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Li, however, assured the public that the smog will disperse by Thursday as the winds

On Monday, Beijing officials issued a yellow alert, as 14 other cities, together with Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, likewise issued red alerts based on a statement by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In the meantime, Beijing has pegged its air quality target for 2017 to more than double the acceptable standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to Reuters.

Mayor Cai Q noted that Beijing's air pollution has hit alarming levels over the past several weeks.

"We will work hard to keep PM2.5 at an annual average of around 60 micrograms per cubic metre," Cai said as he delivered the city's annual work report at the opening of the Beijing People's Congress on Saturday.

PM2.5 are minute air particles that are harmful, as they can pass through humans' lungs and affect or cause damage to other vital organs.

The WHO has set the acceptable PM2.5 annual average at 20-25 micrograms per cubic metre.

Beijing's efforts to curb air pollution in the city is gaining ground, as its quality improved 9.9 percent in 2016, while PM2.5 remained at an annual average of 73, better than the 2016 target of 76.6, according to documents released by the municipal government. 

Tagschina, air pollution, China Air Pollution