(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-23 21:27

BEIJING -- Thick fog continued to blanket parts of western and central China, causing traffic accidents, flight delays and closure of expressways due to low visibility.

The fog lingered on Sunday in regions of the country's north, east and west, according to the China Central Meteorological Observatory. It warned of low visibility and flight delays in those regions.

In Chengdu, capital of the southwest Sichuan Province, the downtown was shrouded by thick fog. The city's Shuangliu International Airport was closed for eight hours on Saturday after fog reduced visibility to 15 meters. A total of 125 flights were delayed and 16 others were canceled, leaving about 12,000 passengers stranded.

"The heavy fog has become disastrous," said Zhao Guangzhong, head of the Sichuan Provincial Meteorological Observatory.

In Xi'an, capital of the northwest Shaanxi Province, more than 20 flights were delayed as of 6 p.m. on Sunday leaving about 1,600 passengers stranded at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

The Xi'an-Baoji Expressway was closed that night as visibility in some sections was less than two meters.

In the northern Hebei Province, heavy fog had continued for five consecutive days, forcing 10 expressways to close and delaying 18 flights as of Sunday, according to the local traffic authority. Three people were reported injured in traffic accidents.

A red fog warning, the highest level, was issued by the local meteorological observatory on Sunday as visibility in Shijiazhuang, Xingtai, Handan and Hengshui was less than 50 meters. Visibility of less than 500 meters was also reported in other parts of Hebei, including Baoding, Langfang and Cangzhou.

"This is the longest and strongest spell of fog Hebei has seen this winter," said Guo Yingchun, a spokesperson with the provincial meteorological observatory.

The central Henan Province also issued a red fog warning on Sunday.

Visibility in the capital city of Zhengzhou was reduced to less than 50 meters and motor vehicles moved at a snail's pace on roads.

It was the 14th fog warning signal issued in Henan since October.

Meteorologists attributed the heavy fog to a combination of high humidity, lower temperatures and low wind speed in the affected regions.

Snowfall since Saturday night had also forced the closure of an expressway in northeast China's Jilin Province. The local meteorological observatory warned of more thick fog and haze in the following days as temperatures drop drastically after the snow.