China has experienced a year of climate extremes.
Last week, most of the country was hit by a cold snap that rewrote records with sub-freezing temperatures, in contrast to the summer, when scorching heat that breached 52 degree Celsius in the northwest blistered the country.
Summer storms also brought record rainfall to Beijing and flooding elsewhere.
On Friday, the central observatory told the public to tune into weather and traffic alerts, and advised them to reduce time outdoors. Residents in parts of Shandong, Anhui and in Jiangsu should avoid going out unless necessary, it added.
“You can’t see clearly the road conditions and traffic lights ahead,” the observatory said on social media.
In Shanghai, some ferry routes were temporarily suspended and some sections of highways, as well as a bridge to a container port, were temporarily closed. At the city’s Bund waterfront, a thick grey fog all but obscured the colourful skyscrapers across from it.
In Jiangsu, some sections of several expressways remained shut since Thursday evening, while Hebei and Henan temporarily closed segments of multiple highways on Friday morning, citing weather conditions, according to state television CCTV and provincial capital authorities said.