Four days of heavy fog have caused serious traffic problems in Nanjing, capital of east China' s Jiangsu Province.

According to reports made public Tuesday, shipping services at the Yangtze River port in the city have been suspended, all flights at the Lukou International Airport have been called off, a local highway is closed and vehicles are moving at a snail's pace in the downtown area.

In some urban districts, the visibility is less than 50 meters. Local meteorologists said that high temperature and moist air have caused the heavy fog. The number of patients suffering from respiratory tract infections, senile bronchitis, asthma and acute bronchitis has been on the rise over the past couple of days.

Because of low visibility, two buses collided Monday morning, injuring 40 passengers. Experts said that the heavy fog is expected to disappear very soon, as a cold front is coming from the north and rainfall is expected in the city.

( People's Daily January 16, 2002)