China's Tianjin city issues first 2018 Level 2 pollution alert from March 1

Apartments blocks are pictured during sunset on the outskirts of Tianjin, China February 2, 2018. Picture taken February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's smog-prone port city of Tianjin issued its first level 2 "orange" pollution alert this year effective from March 1, the city government said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

Pollution is expected to blanket the city and nearby regions, including Beijing and Hebei, until March 4. No time was given for the alert to be lifted.

Emergency measures will be enforced on transportation and at industrial plants.

China has four levels of pollution alerts, graded from red to blue.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Josephine Mason; editing by Richard Pullin)