Heavy fog blankets Shanghai, triggering orange alert
A man stands on a viewing platform amid Wednesday's heavy fog at the Lujiabang ferry port.
The Bund at 9am on Wednesday
An orange fog alert was issued by the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau at 7am this morning, warning that visibility could fall to less than 200 meters during the next 6 hours in some areas outside the central city area.
The orange alert is the second level in a three-tier system.
Shanghai's emergency management bureau reminded local departments to prepare emergency response teams for the foggy weather.
Some of the city's expressways were partially closed, but all reopened except for some entry and exit ramps by 9am, police said.
All traffic police officers were on duty on Wednesday morning during the foggy weather, and no traffic accidents resulting in injuries or deaths were reported between 7am and 9am, according to Shanghai traffic police.
Baoshan traffic police help motorists cross the Huangpu River via the Changjiang Road Tunnel on Wednesday morning.
The number of police officers patrolling the city's expressways was twice that of regular days, and more officers were deployed to manage traffic at the entrances and exits of tunnels along the Huangpu River, police said.
Since some ferry lines over the Huangpu River were suspended, police led the way for bikers and e-bikers to cross the river through the sub-river tunnels.
About 30 flights were canceled and over a dozen others were delayed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Wednesday morning due to poor visibility amid the fog.
The dense fog began shrouding Pudong airport around 5am, reducing visibility on runways to only 200 meters.
Operations were restored after 10am, when two departing flights were still delayed for over two hours and another 11 were over an hour late.
Takeoff and landing of flights at Hongqiao airport have not been affected.
The city was lightly polluted this morning with PM2.5 recordings reaching 91 micrograms per cubic meter. Air quality is expected to improve this afternoon.
A traffic jam this morning at Minhang District's Xinzhuang traffic interchange
New round of cold air
Today's temperature is forecast to range between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius, while the autumn-like weather is expected to end this weekend as a new round of strong cold fronts will arrive.
The cold front will hit the city from Saturday, dropping the temperature to between 2 and 5 degrees.
Sunday will see low temperatures dipping below zero to minus 1 degree with the high only reaching 3 degrees.
This year's 22nd solar term, dongzhi, or the Winter Solstice, fell on Tuesday. There is always heavy snowfall in the northern areas of China during this solar term, which is believed to portend a bumper year for crops. Snow piles up to cover the earth to create a good environment for winter crops.
