China's central government called for local governments to
ensure traffic safety as thick fog continues to plague major parts
of the country, according to a circular released on Friday by the
General Office of the State Council.
The circular called for related organizations to cooperate in
the work of weather monitoring and to take effective measures to
prevent casualties and financial loss.
Many parts of central and eastern China have suffered heavy fog
for more than five days since this autumn, posing great danger to
air, road and water traffic, the circular said.
Most of the central and eastern parts of the country would
continue to suffer foggy weather and road visibility in some areas
would be less than 100 meters, according to the Central
Meteorological Observatory.
Recently, heavy fog forced six expressways to close in central
China's Hubei Province. In the northern Tianjin Municipality, one
expressway was closed due to road visibility of less than 100
meters. In addition, most flights were delayed in Hefei City in the
eastern Anhui Province.
Observatory experts said the fog was caused by a combination of
high humidity and low temperatures.
(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2007)