Beijing authorities prepared citizens for four days of suffocating smog beginning on Saturday. However, many say the haze was less intense than what was forecasted. Some even questioned why the government had issued its highest air pollution alert.

The Chinese government had given warning to occupants across a big part of its northern area on Friday to prepare for severe smog coming over the weekend, the worst of which would hit Beijing. This prompted China to issue the red alert.

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This alert is usually triggered when the air quality exceeds a level of 200 on an index that measures various pollutants for at least three days. The U.S. government deems a level of more than 200 to be "very unhealthy".

On Saturday morning, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center showed an air quality reading of 104.One Beijing resident posted on Weibo, "Today I have to work. And where is the smog?"

Another Weibo user said, "The smog is not so bad. Why do they have driving restrictions?"

The Beijing city government issued its first "red alert" last week following criticism that previous bouts of smog had failed to trigger the highest warning level.

In Beijing, a red alert means around half the vehicles are removed from the roads, with an odd-even licence plate system enforced. Schools are recommended to close and outdoor construction is banned.

Wang Bin, head of the emergency response division of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said that measures were taken in advance to reduce the impact of the pollution and help people to prepare, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The red alert issued earlier this month prevented further deterioration of air quality, the report added, citing the authorities.

Beijing's latest red alert is due to last until midnight on Tuesday.

According to National Meteorological Center, parts of north China will see the worst smog so far this year, starting Saturday. However, it only issued a yellow alert for the city and many surrounding areas on Saturday. Yellow is the second level on China's four-tier color-coded pollution alert system.

The weather observatory said that areas including southern Beijing, Central Hebei, North Henan and West Shandong would be affected by heavy smog, which would start to scatter and dissipate on Wednesday.

It also gave advise to the citizens to be very careful and for those with respiratory diseases to stay indoors until the smog has cleared.

TagsChinese smog, Polluted air, Beijing Red Alert, China Polluted air, chinese pollution