'Off the scale' smog grounds China flights

Rider battles thick smog in Beijing on January 10, 2012. Picture: AP AP

MORE than 150 flights to and from Beijing have been cancelled or delayed as a thick cloud of acrid smog shrouded the city, with US figures saying the pollution was so bad it was off the scale.
The national meteorological centre said the Chinese capital had been hit by thick fog that reduced visibility to as little as 200 metres in some parts of the city, while official data judged air quality to be "good".
But the US embassy, which has its own pollution measuring system, said on its Twitter feed that the concentration of the smallest, most dangerous particles in the air was "beyond index" for most of the morning.
The US system measures particles in the air of 2.5 micrometers or less, known as PM2.5, considered the most dangerous for people's health.
Today's reading on its air quality index, which rates anything over 150 as unhealthy, over 200 as very unhealthy and over 300 as hazardous, breached the upper limit of 500, at which it stops giving figures.

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Fog causing high dust levels in Bulgaria

Breaking Earth News
Bulgaria

Sofia. Dust levels in the air in Bulgaria have remained above the norm throughout January, owing to the fog that has enveloped the country several times this month, the executive environmental agency said Tuesday.
From January 9 to 10, the levels of dust in the air in capital Sofia were four times the norm of 50 milligrammes of dust particles per cubic metre.
And in the second biggest city of Plovdiv, further south, dust pollution was six times the norm last week, reaching the highest levels in two years, data showed.(AFP)

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Region sees first fog of year

Breaking Earth News
India
Photo: Monks Leading a Cow Through the Fog

Sounds strange, but it’s true. On Wednesday morning, Ambala in Haryana, and from Zirakpur to Ludhiana in Punjab experienced poor visibility due to fog. For the past three days, Banur residents have been wondering why visibility on roads is low. They have never seen fog in September. "It’s strange despite such high day temperature, there’s fog early in the morning." The air was laden with 95% moisture. Met officials and city-based environmentalists said this climatic condition was ‘RARE’. "Earlier, we had experienced mist and haze during this season, but fog is rare. It’s been happening since the last three days. However, it’s a natural phenomenon. Humidity is present in the atmosphere. Low speed of winds, stable weather and a plunge in the morning temperature make a perfect condition for fog to occur. Fog can also happen because of more moisture in the air and a clear sky." "Abrupt changes in climate are expected. Though fog is rare in September, but it can be due to heat entrapment in atmospheric layers. This is also a result of global climate change."

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Freak fog in Delhi, flight movement affected

Earth News: India

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Flight operation at Indian capital was completely halted for nearly 100 minutes as dense fog engulfed the airport early Saturday, affecting the schedule of more than three-dozen flights.

"Fog enveloped the airport from nowhere and flight schedules were affected. We implemented the low visibility procedures at 8.17 a.m. and lifted it at 9.50 a.m. but there was no flight movement during the period. The visibility was as low as 50 metres," said an official of the Delhi International Airport Limited

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Fog strands thousands of passengers at Heathrow

Earth News: London
Photo: An aeroplane takes off from Heathrow airport in London on Friday, as the fog bound airport struggles to cope with the weather. Photo: AP

Dec 22, 2006
Thick fog caused the cancellation of flights at London's Heathrow Airport for a fourth successive day Friday, forcing thousands of frustrated passengers to scrap or delay their Christmas travel plans. Hundreds of flights have been canceled since the fog rolled in Tuesday, affecting an estimated 40,000 people. About 160,000 people transit through Heathrow on a typical day, but nearly 200,000 are expected to travel through the airport Friday. At Heathrow the fog was expected to continue through the weekend, causing more potential delays for passengers making connecting flights. Visibility on Thursday had reached a low of 115 meters (377 feet), well below the 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) generally considered disruptive for flights. Heathrow - built on flat, grassy land and surrounded by reservoirs and canals - is particularly vulnerable to fog. Long, cool nights and calm winds have led forecasters to warn that the fog could linger into the weekend. The awful airline delays are the result of severe weather conditions. Since that is not the airline’s fault, they cannot be held liable for most of the problems that follow. But whether any of their procedures to deal with extraordinary events have exacerbated travellers’ misery is another question. The duration of the heavy fog is certainly UNUSUAL.

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