China's weather observatory has issued a yellow alert on Tuesday morning due to smog coming from the north side of the country and is expected to linger until Wednesday.

According to the National Meteorological Center, the affected areas include Beijing, Tianjin and the neighboring provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi and Sichuan. Residents of these areas may expect heavy air pollution.

Like Us on Facebook

Meanwhile, southern Beijing and southwestern Hebei are expected to face heavy smog.

Visibility in the areas is expected to be reduced to less than one kilometer during this new bout of smog while the pollution density will reach 2.5 micrograms and is expected to rise to more than 500 micrograms per cubic meter.

It is not the first time that this happened this month. On Dec. 9, Beijing was forced to issue its highest smog alert for the first time since their emergency response system was installed in Oct. 2013.  

Coal burning and car emissions are just some of the major sources of air pollution in the country. During the winter, an increase in coal burning for heating purposes exacerbates other forms of pollution, creating periods of heavy smog like the one the country has experienced in recent months. 

Tagsweather, fog, smog