Smog cloaks Beijing

The Yongding river and its riverside buildings are seen in Beijing, China, Nov. 13, 2015. Beijing government issued a yellow signal warning against heavy pollution as smog cloaked the city on Friday. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua)

BEIJING, Nov. 13 -- Severe air pollution is forecast to linger in Beijing for the next two days as the Chinese capital is veiled in smog.

The air pollution emergency response office in Beijing issued an alert for heavy pollution on Friday, saying the air condition would improve on Sunday.

The environment watchdog in Beijing said the air condition of the Chinese capital has been improving during the last two years.

The number of days with severe air pollution was 58 in 2013 and declined to 45 in 2014. By November 10 this year, the number of days with severe air pollution was 21, 17 days less than the same period last year.

"Beijing's dedicated effort to combat pollution is reducing the possibility and intensity of severe air pollution," said Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center Director Zhang Dawei.