China's Meteorological Administration on Tuesday has barred regional forecasters from issuing smog alerts to prevent mismatches, a move that has raised suspicions and received great criticisms from the online community.

The note reportedly came as an internal memo and was sent to prevent "incidents of the meteorological administration and the environmental protection ministry [from] frequently releasing different information about the smog," the Hindustan Time reported, citing an unnamed official of the National Meteorological Administration.

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The notice by the meteorological department said that only one department will be tasked to post smog alerts to maintain uniformity. Local departments are however allowed to continue releasing fog alerts when visibility is less than 10 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the notice draw a massive criticism from online users, with many saying that it was a new scheme to create a common lie and prevent harming China's economic performance.

The Nanjing Meteorological Institute took to its Weibo account to comment on the recent amendment.

"The meteorological administration fought the environmental protection ministry and lost," the post read. "Thus, early warnings about smog, a kind of meteorological calamity cannot be issued by the administration."

China has been constantly battling against the deadly smog, which has been affecting the country over the past three years. In a bid to curb air pollution, the Chinese government has implemented new rules and regulations and imposed fines for violators.

Tagschina, Meteorological Administration, smog, smog alert