Heavy smog envelops Beijing

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Thick smog continued to envelop Beijing on Friday (October 10), keeping the Chinese capital on the country's second-highest air pollution level for a second day.

Beijing raised its pollution alert from yellow to orange - the second-highest of a four-tier warning system - on Thursday (October 9) afternoon.

The orange level advises schools and kindergartens to cancel outside sports classes, but falls short of ordering schools to close and keeping government vehicles off the road, provisions which come into force with the "red" level.

The capital has been shrouded in smoky, white smog since Tuesday (October 7), prompting the authorities to issue a yellow alert on Wednesday (October 8).

Data from the U.S. embassy put levels of PM2.5 particles, those measuring less than 2.5 micrometers across and the most noxious form of air pollution, at 332 as of 10 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Friday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers levels abov