Flights cancelled as Beijing is blighted by smog yet again
Travel chaos at end of holiday after visibility drops below 500 metres, and new study puts the blame on nature and human activities
Thick smog that blanketed Beijing and surrounding regions for a record 21 days last month returned yesterday, causing travel chaos as many businesses reopened and people returned after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Highways were forced to temporarily close and airline traffic was disrupted as visibility near Beijing International Airport fell, delaying some early morning flights, Xinhua reported.
At 7.45am, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau issued a "yellow" fog alert, indicating that visibility in eastern and southern parts of the city would be less than 500 metres in the next three hours, and authorities urged residents to take necessary precautions. The yellow warning was lifted at 11am, and the smog levels had fallen sharply by last night.
Since Saturday evening, moderate to severe air pollution was reported in much of the city, accompanied by high levels of health-threatening PM2.5 pollutants.
In the neighbouring province of Hebei , air quality was also considered "hazardous". Weather authorities started issuing yellow fog and haze alerts across the province on Saturday morning, and two "orange" alerts were issued that night and early yesterday as visibility dropped below 200 metres, according to the bureau's website.