The second-highest pollution alert has been issued for Beijing, where heavy smog is expected for at least another five days. <br /><br /> Hundreds of flights have been grounded and highways closed as authorities attempt to reduce the pollution.<br /><br /> The alert comes despite anti-smog measures in force over the New Year period.<br /><br /> Gao Yan, a Beijing resident, told reporters: “Nobody likes smog. It brings many negative effects on people’s emotions and we all feel very bad about it. <br /><br /> “We see items on social media and read media reports everyday about smog and they make us feel so depressed.”<br /><br /> Zhan Yan, another resident, said: “I feel so depressed. I have a child but I can only keep him at home and he can’t even go out into the sunshine, this really worries me. It’s grey everywhere. What about the future?”<br /><br /> However, despite the pollution alert, Beijing authorities say air quality is improving overall.<br /><br /> They say the concentration of harmful particles was down almost 10 percent last year and the number of blue sky days was up 12 to 198.<br />
