The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is expected to see heavy air pollution from Friday to March 15, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Thursday night.

This round of smog, with concentrations of PM2.5 expected to climb to 200 micrograms per cubic meter or higher, is forecast to blanket central and southern parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, southern Shanxi province, western Shandong province, and northern Henan province.

It is likely to ease around March 16 under the influence of rainfall and a cold-air front, the ministry said.

In the remaining days of March, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is expected to experience smog two or three times, it added.