People across northern China had to face immense inconvenience on Sunday as there was no respite from unrelenting smog even on New Year's Eve. The unforgiving smog on the first day of the year forced authorities to cancel several flights and shut down many highways across the region.

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In the national capital Beijing, nearly 126 flights were reportedly cancelled at the city's main airport, while buses from airport heading towards neighboring cities were suspended as well.

In Beijing's neighboring metropolis Tianjin, the smog was not as severe but the visibility was much worse, with more than 300 flights called off at Tianjin airport. Local government authorities claimed that the situation across the city is not expected to improve anytime soon.

The People's Daily reported on its official website that smog in Shijiazhuang city forced two dozen flights to be called off and nearly eight flights to divert to other airports.

At least 24 cities across northern China have issued red alert in the current round of on-going smog, which necessitates preventive measures like putting cap on car usage and closure of factories, while 21 cities including Beijing and Tianjin have been put on orange alert.

Smog alerts in China's Northern provinces are pretty common during winter season, when energy demand across the country soars. The Asian country meets most of its energy demand by burning millions of tons of coals each year, which is widely blamed for emission of green house gases and other major pollution problems in the nation.   

The Chinese government has already vowed to cut down on coal consumption in a desperate bid to win the ongoing problem against pollution. 

TagsChina smog, China Air Pollution, Norther China, Smog Northern China, china