Beijing hit with smog, visibility lowered

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BEIJING, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Traffic and flights in Beijing were disrupted Sunday because of smog that shrouded the city and some other provinces in China, officials said.

Moderate to serious air pollution was reported in many parts of Beijing, with a visibility of less than 1,640 feet, Xinhua reported.

At the Beijing Capital International Airport, visibility at one point dropped to between 16 and 32 feet, delaying some flights.

Stretches of highways in Beijing and other cities including Kaifeng, Harbin, Shanghai and Tianjin were temporarily closed due to the smog, Beijing municipal traffic administration authorities said.

The air quality index reached 500, or extreme pollution, in five monitoring sites at 8 a.m. in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province.