Smog Forces China’s Expressways Closures

North China shrouded in choking smog; dozens of expressways closed

Most parts of north China Sunday were shrouded in smog forcing authorities to shut down dozens of expressways in many provinces, and hindering the return of holidaymakers near the end of Chinese “golden week.”

Choking smog has enveloped the region for 5 days so far, with no sign of abating.

“In Beijing, heavy smog lasted into the second day Sunday and visibility was under 1,000 meters,” said a report.

“In the foggiest industrial city of Anshan, visibility was under 50 meters in some areas and many travelers were forced to postpone their trips.”

Authorities have so far closed down “six inter-provincial expressways, including roads linking the capital with Harbin in the northeast, Shanghai in the east, as well as Tianjin and Hebei,” and scores of expressways in several other provinces, said the report.

Original caption: Vehicles move slowly on the Sutong Bridge of the Shenyang-Haikou Highway (from south to north), east China’s Jiangsu Province, Oct. 1, 2013. Influenced by heavy fog, sections of highways in east China’s Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces won’t open to traffic until 10 a.m on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhu Jipeng). More images…

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