The National Meteorological Center (NMC) has announced that a thick blanket of smog, which has covered several parts of northern China since the beginning of the week, will begin to dissipate by Wednesday evening.

According to Xinhua, the smog has persisted in Beijing and many neighboring provinces, including Tianjin, Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjaing since Monday.

Like Us on Facebook

The NMC renewed a yellow alert - its third least severe warning - for the smog on Wednesday. The center had originally issued the alert on Monday.

Air pollution is a major issue in Beijing where the operations of several factories (including coal-burning plants) directly affects the environment. The large number of cars in the city has also been identified as a source of pollution. Nonetheless, a Beijing official recently noted that the latest bout of smog was caused by large scale burning of straw in the North China Plain, according to Chinese state media.

Meteorologists have warned that there will be low visibility in the affected areas. On Tuesday, smog was visible in Beijing's National Tennis Stadium during the China Open women's singles match between Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams.

Observers say the smog could affect the movement of many tourists who travelled to northern China to spend the National Day Golden Week holiday. The week-long holiday ends today and travelers are set to begin to journey back home.

A recent study published in the Nature journal revealed that China accounts for about 40 percent (1.3 million) of the global deaths from air pollution annually. Health experts say the amount of PM2.5 (particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers) in the atmosphere needs to be reduced by about 20 - 30 percent in order to stabilize the country's mortality rate.

Chinese authorities have taken several steps to curb air pollution in the city. Earlier in the year, new regulations were announced targeting individuals and companies in sectors responsible for pollution. Last month, while President Xi Jinping was visiting the U.S., President Barack Obama announced that China is set to launch a cap-and-trade plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2017.

In 2014, the Chinese government agreed, in a joint deal with the U.S., to peak the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

TagsChina Smog.Northern China Smog, China Smog 2015, North China Smog Yellow Alert, China Air Pollution