The cities of Handan, Baoding, Hengshui, Cangzhou and Xingtai in China’s Hebei Province have decided to initiate a level II emergency response as of 12:00 on December 8, aiming to alleviate pollution.
Accordingly, the use of heavy-duty trucks that meet National IV or lower emission standards (including gas-powered) for transportation is prohibited. In the steel, coking and other related industries, road transportation of materials and products should use pure-electric or fuel-cell heavy-duty trucks, or heavy-duty trucks that meet National VI emission standards (including gas-powered trucks), excluding special-purpose vehicles and vehicles for transporting hazardous chemicals.
The emergency response measures are expected to be lifted on December 11 when pollution eases.