Heavy smog in large parts of China

Heavy smog in large parts of China caused over 150 flights to be cancelled and highways to shut after the New Year holiday.

A total of 164 arrivals and departures at the airport in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China’s Hebei Province, had been cancelled till early this morning, state run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Four flights were forced to land at other airports and another 23 flights were delayed due to low visibility.

Dense fog temporarily closed several sections of six expressways in Beijing Tuesday morning, the first working day after the New Year holiday, according to Beijing Traffic Management Bureau. Heavy smog shrouding Beijing and 71 cities for the past five days is set to get to worse in the next few days while the government dispatched 40,000 officials to inspect violations by factories flaunting warnings to halt operations.