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Still air leaves Shanghai shrouded in dense haze
By Cai Wenjun and Yang Jian |
January 15, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Shanghai will experience dense fog and haze over the next two to three days, city forecasters said yesterday.
Air quality should improve with the arrival of a cold front from the north, but that could be temporary, Man Liping, chief service officer of the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, said.
"The wind can blow off the pollutants accumulated in the air, while the air quality may get bad afterward since the cold front also can bring sand and dirt," she said.
The city's air quality worsened again yesterday after Sunday's rain and wind from the sea ceased, causing the PM2.5 index to rebound from 20 micrograms per cubic meter at 3pm on Sunday to 150 micrograms at 10am yesterday. The readings at midnight were 97.9 micrograms per cubic meter.
The city's 24-hour average of PM2.5 was 127.6 micrograms per cubic meter at 12am, compared with the nation's safe limit of 75 micrograms.
PM2.5 particles, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are the main cause of urban smog and haze and harmful to health.
The lack of wind led to lingering fog in Chongming County and Fengxian District and light haze in other parts of the city yesterday.
More than 100 flights were canceled and another 100 delayed because of fog at the city's two airports.
Though not very dense, it reduced visibility and caused the delay and cancelation of domestic flights to cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Shenyang and Kunming.
Visibility was just 700 meters at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport and 2,200 meters at Pudong International Airport yesterday morning, the city's airport authority said.
More than 60 flights, mostly domestic, were canceled at Hongqiao while 43 were canceled at Pudong, the authority said.
The fog dispersed in the afternoon but many flights still failed to take off because destinations in east and northern China were shrouded in fog.
Meanwhile, an air pollution warning system connected to local primary and middle schools and kindergartens has been established by the Shanghai Education Commission and Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.
The bureau will warn the education authority about air pollution and information will be sent to the principals of all 3,053 schools and kindergartens within 15 minutes to guide outdoor activities.
The first message was sent last Tuesday, reminding schools and kindergartens about the pollution and urging them to avoid outdoor exercises.
Experts from Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention said preschoolers and students were more likely to suffer respiratory infections than adults. Children should avoid outdoor exercise in polluted days and wear masks.
Air quality should improve with the arrival of a cold front from the north, but that could be temporary, Man Liping, chief service officer of the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, said.
"The wind can blow off the pollutants accumulated in the air, while the air quality may get bad afterward since the cold front also can bring sand and dirt," she said.
The city's air quality worsened again yesterday after Sunday's rain and wind from the sea ceased, causing the PM2.5 index to rebound from 20 micrograms per cubic meter at 3pm on Sunday to 150 micrograms at 10am yesterday. The readings at midnight were 97.9 micrograms per cubic meter.
The city's 24-hour average of PM2.5 was 127.6 micrograms per cubic meter at 12am, compared with the nation's safe limit of 75 micrograms.
PM2.5 particles, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are the main cause of urban smog and haze and harmful to health.
The lack of wind led to lingering fog in Chongming County and Fengxian District and light haze in other parts of the city yesterday.
More than 100 flights were canceled and another 100 delayed because of fog at the city's two airports.
Though not very dense, it reduced visibility and caused the delay and cancelation of domestic flights to cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Shenyang and Kunming.
Visibility was just 700 meters at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport and 2,200 meters at Pudong International Airport yesterday morning, the city's airport authority said.
More than 60 flights, mostly domestic, were canceled at Hongqiao while 43 were canceled at Pudong, the authority said.
The fog dispersed in the afternoon but many flights still failed to take off because destinations in east and northern China were shrouded in fog.
Meanwhile, an air pollution warning system connected to local primary and middle schools and kindergartens has been established by the Shanghai Education Commission and Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.
The bureau will warn the education authority about air pollution and information will be sent to the principals of all 3,053 schools and kindergartens within 15 minutes to guide outdoor activities.
The first message was sent last Tuesday, reminding schools and kindergartens about the pollution and urging them to avoid outdoor exercises.
Experts from Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention said preschoolers and students were more likely to suffer respiratory infections than adults. Children should avoid outdoor exercise in polluted days and wear masks.
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