Starting on Thursday at noon, cold fronts will gradually clear the haze from north to south, ending this bout with smog on Friday in most areas in the region, the monitoring center said.

Thanks to the cold air, most parts of the region will experience good air quality, although some may be stricken by mild pollution from Friday to Sunday, it said.

Beijing will see heavy air pollution on Wednesday and Thursday morning and mild air pollution on Thursday afternoon, the center said.

The capital's air pollution emergency response office issued a yellow alert for smog on Tuesday, reminding residents to take precautions.

Under Beijing's three-tier warning system, the yellow alert is the least severe, followed by orange and red.