A powerful typhoon left three dead and threatened to bring heavy rains and winds to the heavily-populated Philippine capital as it dragged its way across the archipelago on Monday, spoiling the Christmas holidays.

Typhoon Nock-Ten, which made landfall on the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Sunday, is forecast to move westward towards the country's heartland, packing winds of 215 kilometres (134 miles) per hour.

Heavy snow in northern Japan caused transport chaos over the holiday weekend, with flights and train services canceled and thousands of passengers forced to camp out at a regional airport for three straight nights.

China on Thursday launched a satellite to monitor carbon dioxide levels, state media said, making the Asian giant the third country to track the potent contributor to global warming from space.

China's smoggiest city closed schools Wednesday, as the country suffered through its sixth day under an oppressive haze, provoking public anger about the slow response to the threat to children's health.

Since Friday, a choking miasma has covered a large swathe of northeastern China, leaving more than 460 million gasping for breath.

An underwater robot has captured a rare glimpse beneath the Antarctic sea ice, revealing a colourful world filled with coconut-shaped sponges, dandelion-like worms, pink algae and spidery starfish.

Heavy smog suffocated northeast China for a fifth day Tuesday, with hundreds of flights cancelled and road and rail transport grinding to a halt under the low visibility conditions.

More than 20 cities have entered a state of red alert since Friday evening, implementing emergency measures aimed at cutting emissions and protecting public health from the toxic miasma.

Chinese cities are limiting the number of cars on roads and have temporarily shut down factories to cut down pollution during a national "red alert" for smog.

State media reported Monday that more than 700 companies stopped production in Beijing, and that traffic police were restricting drivers by monitoring their license plate numbers. Dozens of cities closed schools and took other emergency measures after a "red alert" was issued from Friday night to Wednesday for much of northern China.

The battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group is leaving a legacy of environmental damage and health risks that will pose dangers to people for years to come.

China's capital and other northern cities have banned half of all vehicles from city streets and ordered factories, schools and construction sites closed in response to a five-day smog red alert.

The emergency steps significantly reduced traffic in Beijing on Saturday, although it wasn't clear what effect it was having on air pollution. By midday, the capital was enveloped in a smothering layer of smog, with concentrations of microscopic PM2.5 — small, inhalable particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and are considered a reliable gauge of air quality — rising to more than 10 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.

When the world triumphantly celebrated the signing of the landmark Paris climate pact last December, it was hard to imagine that only a year later it might face an existential threat.