According to news reports, 85 Chinese cities had small airborne particles known as PM2.5 as of 7 a.m. on November 5. They included Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei Province, Feiwei Plain (from Shanxi Province to Shaanxi Province), Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province), Middle Reaches of Yangtze River (from Sichuan Province to Hubei Province), and northeast China. Among them, 6 cities had severe pollution as measured by the level of PM2.5.

This wave of pollution started with an orange alert issued on November 2 in Henan Province (Kaifeng, Jiaozuo, Nanyang and other cities). It then spread to other places in central and eastern China.

Also as of 7 a.m. on November 5, there were 29 cities in eastern China issuing an orange alert for heavy air pollution. In addition, 9 cities issued a yellow alert for heavy air pollution.

In pictures taken by Beijing residents on 8:30 a.m. of November 6, heavy smog blanketed the city. Residents reported the smog was pungent and caused shortness of breath, similar to the smog that Beijing had in the past.