Pollution continues to blanket many parts of China, grounding flights and causing long traffic jams.

Visibility is below 200 meters in parts of northern China’s Hebei province. The local authority has closed 17 expressways in the province. Ten flights have also been cancelled in the capital Shijiangzhuang.

In East China's Zhejiang Province, Jiaxing and Huzhou visibility has fallen below 500 meters. Traffic police are guiding traffic. Xiaoshan Airport in Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou has been closed.

In Central China's Henan province, several expressways are also closed. Weather forecasters in Hebei, Henan, and Zhejiang have issued orange alerts for smog, the second-highest level in China's four-tier color-coded weather warning system.

Forecasters say stronger winds could disperse the smog Thursday afternoon.