BEIJING — The heavy air pollution in parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will abate from March 20, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said on March 19.

A new round of precipitation in neighboring areas and northeast wind will help alleviate the smog in the region’s central and southern areas, the MEP said in an online statement.

The MEP predicted the pollution to disperse when a cold front arrives on March 24.

Since March 14, pollutant-trapping weather conditions have contributed to light to heavy air pollution in the region, MEP said.

Beijing issued a blue alert for heavy air pollution on March 19 after readings at most of its monitoring stations for the hazardous fine particle matter PM2.5 exceeded 250 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.