Heavy fog delayed more than 80 flights in Beijing Capital International Airport this morning, Xinhua news agency reported. Flights gradually resumed after the visibility began to clear at 8 AM.

 

 

Thick fog envelops Beijing from Sunday night.

 

An official of the airport said the visibility had dropped below the lower limit so flights couldn't take off, but the airport launched emergency measures to maintain the order and avoid mass congestion.

 

Passengers had better contact with the airliners for the latest information before heading to the airport, the official said.

 

Thick fog across northern China yesterday threw air and road transport into chaos and sent scores of people to hospital with respiratory illnesses.

 

More than 20 highways in the north were closed and visibility was reportedly as low as 500 meters in Beijing.

 

He Lifu, a meteorologist with the National Meteorology Center, said high humidity and little wind over the past week caused the fog.

 

(Shanghai Daily November 21, 2006)