Smoggy weather that has lingered since Sunday continued to shroud parts of China Tuesday, crippling traffic, closing expressways and delaying flights.

Visibility was reduced to less than 1,000 meters in north, central and east China and less than 200 meters in a few areas, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) reported Tuesday.

The center issued a yellow alert, the second-highest alert in the country's weather warning system, for the affected areas.

In east China's Shandong province, about 10 expressways have been forced to shut down, local authorities said.

The smog is expected to disperse Wednesday with the arrival of cool air, the NMC reported.