China limits cars and closes factories in smog red alert

Hundreds of Beijing companies forced to stop production and hospitals prepare for surge in pollution-related illnesses

The number of cars on roads was limited and factories were temporarily shut in some northern Chinese cities on Monday to reduce pollution during a national smog red alert.

More than 700 companies stopped production in Beijing and traffic police were restricting drivers by monitoring numberplates, state media reported. In choking conditions, dozens of cities closed schools and took other emergency measures after the alert was issued for much of northern China.