![Beijing is cloaked in heavy fog on March 17, 2012. [Xinhua]](U371P886T1D10585F12DT20120319155725.jpg "Beijing is cloaked in heavy fog on March 17, 2012. [Xinhua]")
Beijing is cloaked in heavy fog on March 17, 2012. [Xinhua]
A widespread fog affecting the north China region including Beijing and Tianjin has closed major highways and grounded hundreds of flights Saturday morning.
The Beijing Capital International Airport said by 9 a.m., 199 flights were canceled, as the visibility at the airport was less than 200 meters.
Meanwhile, airports in Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou in north China were all enveloped in dense fog Saturday morning, with the visibility in Tianjin's airport less than 50 meters.
The fog has stagnated air pollutants. The averaged PM2.5 air quality reading in Beijing from Friday night to Saturday morning hit 144 micrograms of fine particles in per cubic meter of air.
The Municipal Meteorological Station said a gale following a drizzle Saturday evening would help dissipate the smog, but bring down the temperature by 10 degrees Celsius.
A cold front is expected to sweep China over the weekend, bringing rain, fog and plunging temperatures, the meteorological authority said Saturday.
Most northern regions will experience a decrease of 6 to 10 degrees Celsius over the coming three days. In China's northernmost regions, temperatures may fall by as much as 14 degrees Celsius, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.
Meanwhile, strong winds are expected to batter those regions as well. The Tarim Basin in south Xinjiang, the western parts of Inner Mongolia and the northern parts of Ningxia will see dust storms on Sunday.
South China will expect drenching rains to linger over the weekend, the NMC said.
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