Fog blankets Shanghai, triggering orange alert
Print Edition
HEAVY fog shrouded Shanghai early yesterday, with visibility falling to less than 200 meters in some suburban areas of the city.
Ferry lines across the Huangpu River were suspended, and flights were delayed or canceled at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
Local weather authorities issued an orange alert, the second-highest level in a three-tier system.
It was lifted at 10:45am.
Traffic police officers were manning the roads in the morning to ensure accident-free traffic in the foggy weather.
There were no reports of accidents injuries or deaths between 7am and 9am, police said.
The number of police officers patrolling the city’s expressways was twice that of regular days. More officers were deployed to manage traffic at the entrances and exits of tunnels along the Huangpu River.
Since some ferry lines were suspended, police allowed the bikers and e-bikers to cross the river through the sub-river tunnels.
About 30 flights were canceled and over a dozen others were delayed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport due to poor visibility.
The dense fog began shrouding Pudong airport around 5am, reducing visibility on runways to only 200 meters.
Operations were restored after 10am. Two departing flights were still delayed for over two hours and another 11 flights were stranded for over an hour.
Takeoff and landing of flights at Hongqiao airport were not affected.
Some of the city’s expressways were partially closed, but they all reopened — except for some entry and exit ramps — by 9am, police said.
The city was lightly polluted with PM2.5 recordings reaching 91 micrograms per cubic meter. Air quality is expected to be better today.
With the arrival of the new round of cold fronts, citizens are likely to have a cold Christmas with Saturday’s temperature expected to drop significantly between 2 and 5 degrees.
On Sunday, the mercury is likely to drop between -1 to 3 degrees.
A light drizzle is predicted for Friday with the highs dropping to around 14 degrees.
But it will begin to warm up from next Wednesday with the high returning to around 11 degrees, according to the local weather bureau.
The year’s 22nd solar term, dongzhi, or the Winter Solstice, fell on Tuesday.
It is usually followed by heavy snowfall in the northern areas of China, seen as an indication of bumper crops for the year. Snow piles up to cover the earth to create a good environment for winter crops.
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