Highly toxic smog hit China’s northern city of Harbin yesterday, which led to over 40 domestic flights being cancelled or postponed yesterday, and a further 13 being cancelled so far today.
As the capital city of the Heilongjiang province, Harbin acts as an economic and political hub in Northeast China. It is known for its extremely cold and volatile winters, and bears the nickname "Ice City".
The smog has been attributed to the arrival of winter, which typically brings the worst air pollution to the region. In addition, the increased levels of coal burning for homes and municipal heating systems have exacerbated the situation.
According to a report by Times, coal plants are the main source of energy and heat in the country. It also doesn't help that the Chinese government declared in 1950 that coal-powered heating would be available free to anyone who lived north of the Huai River and Qinling Mountains, including cities like Harbin.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported that visibility is less than 50 metres, and that some of the city’s public transport has stopped running.
According to flightstats.com, affected flights out of Harbin Taiping International Airport today include services towards Beijing, Shanghai and Yichun.
There have also been severe flights delays to many other cities within China. These include China Southern Airlines flight CZ 6269 bound for Xian, Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH 9676 towards Guangzhou, and Delta Airlines flight DL 7785 to Beijing.
For more information, visit www.flightstats.com
Clement Huang
