Beijing to ban polluting cars during smog alerts

Beijing: Beijing will next year ban highly polluting old cars from being driven whenever air quality alerts are issued in the city or neighbouring regions, the city's environmental protection bureau said on Monday.

China has adopted various measures over the years to reduce the blankets of smog which shroud many of the country's northern cities in the winter, causing hazardous traffic conditions and disrupting daily life.

As of Feb. 15, vehicles which don't meet the government's current standard on emissions - in practice those which are more than 10 years old - will be banned in Beijing's main urban area whenever orange or red alerts are issued in Beijing or neighbouring Hebei province and Tianjin city, the bureau said.