Heavy smog and haze continued to envelop Northeast China for a third straight day on Tuesday.

By 4 pm, almost all monitoring stations in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces reported readings above 200 for PM2.5 - airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter - indicating severe pollution, according to the China National Environmental Monitoring Center. The PM2.5 level deemed safe by the World Health Organization is about 25.

The air pollution level in Jilin city reached the top level of 500 in the afternoon.