BEIJING, China (Reuters) — Heavy haze enveloping many parts of north China is seriously disrupting people’s daily life.
In Beijing, Tuesday marks the fifth day of a red alert warning against air pollution.
As of 06:30, a total of 169 flights had been canceled due to low visibility of less than 300 meters. The visibility is expected to rise to one kilometer after 10:00.
The government has increased its public transport capacities and implemented the odd-even number plate rule.
Police officers have been deployed to stop the vehicles disobeying the rules to reduce the exhaust emissions.
Thick haze has continued to shroud many cities in north Hebei Province on Tuesday with Shijiazhuang, Xinji, and Xingtai seeing the AQI (air quality index) exceed 500, which is extremely harmful to people’s health.
Expressways in these cities have been closed, and airport services suspended.
The haze has also lingered in east Shandong Province, especially its western and central areas.
A time-lapse video of the city of Weifang revealed the cityscape including traffic and skyscrapers on Monday completely disappearing as the haze rolled in.
Schools in Xi’an, the capital of northwest Shaanxi Province, were closed, and students were reminded to stay indoors as the air pollution is forecast to last for several days.