According to the municipal environmental protection bureau, Beijing will see mild pollution, with the main pollutant being PM 2.5, Sunday.

The Air Quality Index is expected to reach between 125 and 145. Pollution will become severe Monday and hit medium levels on Tuesday.

Air quality will improve on Wednesday with the arrival of cold air, state-run Xinhuanews agency repored.

The National Meteorological Center said smog will hit parts of north and central China starting Sunday.

The smog, which will hit Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan and Shaanxi, is expected to last until a cold front comes to the rescue around Thursday, the national observatory said.

Beijing aims to control the annual average density of PM 2.5 to around 60 micrograms this year, Lu Yan, head of the Beijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said.

The announcement came as Beijing along with 20 other cities suffered prolonged smog for over two weeks during which officials came under criticism for not enforcing the red alert to help factories to continue with production.

Subsequently the local administration has announced formation of environmental police to enforce the rules strictly.

In 2017, 700 villages will switch from coal to clean energy. Total coal use will be cut by 30 per cent to seven million tonnes and 300,000 outdated vehicles will be phased out, the Beijing municipal government work report, submitted to the on-going meetings of local legislature and political advisory body.

Cai Qi, deputy Party chief and acting mayor of Beijing, said Beijing will take tougher measures to improve the city's air quality in 2017.

Also Beijing is on course to cap its population at 22 million in 2017 as the capital saw its population growth rate slow last year, acting mayor Cai Qi said.