More than 2,000 passengers were stranded for the second day at an airport in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Dec. 10 due to lingering fog.

More than 70 flights arriving at or departing from the Urumqi International Airport in the regional capital have been canceled or delayed since Dec. 9, when a heavy fog settled into the city.

On Dec. 10, visibility at the airport improved to 200 meters from 20 meters on Dec. 9, but that was still below the standard of 550 meters and 800 meters for take-off and landing, respectively.

On Dec. 9, more than 3,000 passengers were stranded, although some had returned home or checked into hotels as of Dec. 10. Others were being supplied with meals at the airport.

The fog is expected to dissipate in the afternoon and flights will resume when visibility improves sufficiently.