BEIJING - Year-end holidaymakers across China were bracing themselves for possible transport disruptions after the weather bureau on Dec 29 warned that heavy fog and haze would shroud areas from Hebei province in the north to southern Shanghai for more than 24 hours.
The National Meteorological Centre has issued its first red alert for fog since 2017. Conditions were expected to improve from the evening of Dec 30 , when a cold wave of air is expected to blow over the country.
More than 600 flights were delayed in various cities including Urumqi, Hebei’s Shijiazhuang, Shandong’s Qingdao and Shanghai, tracking app Flight Master showed.
Severe fog was expected in parts of northern province Hebei, central province Henan, eastern provinces Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong as well as in the municipalities Shanghai and Chongqing from the morning of Dec 29, the National Meteorological Centre said.
Dense fog was predicted in parts of Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai, leading to low visibility of less than 200m, and less than 50m in some areas.
In the north, around the capital of north-western Xinjiang region, Urumqi, and areas between the Yellow River and Huai River, light to moderate haze was forecast, with heavy haze affecting Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and Henan.
The severe weather was due to high humidity and poor atmospheric diffusion conditions, the forecaster said.
China has experienced a year of climate extremes.
Last week, most of the country was hit by a cold snap which rewrote records with sub-freezing temperatures, in contrast to the summer, when scorching heat that breached 52 deg C in the north-west blistered the country.
Summer storms also brought record rainfall to Beijing and flooding elsewhere.
On Dec 29, the central observatory told the public to tune in to weather and traffic alerts, and advised people to reduce time outdoors. Residents in parts of Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu should avoid going out unless necessary, it added.
In Shanghai, some ferry routes were temporarily suspended and some sections of highways, as well as a bridge to a container port, were temporarily closed.
Earlier, a thick grey fog had all but obscured the city’s colourful skyscrapers, but skies were now clearer.
“I have never seen the Pearl Tower in the fog before. Now the fog has completely dispersed. I have been recording photos of the Oriental Pearl Tower,” said 25-year-old tourist Xu Lejun from Jiangxi province.
In Jiangsu, sections of several expressways have remained shut since the evening of Dec 28, while Hebei and Henan temporarily closed segments of multiple highways on the morning of Dec 29, citing weather conditions, according to state television CCTV and provincial capital authorities. REUTERS
