The strongest winter "assassin" is rain, snow and hail? Wrong, it is actually this!

Snowfall, cooling, freezing rain, strong winds, these most noticeable weather conditions in winter are not actually the most lethal. Compared to these "high-profile" weather conditions, fog is actually more confusing and lethal. Its beautiful appearance hides dangers everywhere, and within a few minutes, visibility drops sharply to more than ten meters. It can be called the first "assassin" on the highway .

Real-time visibility map of the whole country at 8:00 on December 29, source: China Meteorological Administration, technical support provided by Aerospace Hongtu Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Why is fog so strong? Once we encounter it, how should we deal with it?

01

The mystery of fog

"Cluster fog" is also known as clumps of fog. In essence, it is also fog. It is affected by the microclimate environment of the local area. It is a "thicker" fog with lower visibility that appears quickly in a local area of ​​tens to hundreds of meters in the heavy fog.

From this introduction, we can discover its three characteristics: strong , fast , and small range .

Generally speaking, for a large area of ​​fog, visibility is unlikely to drop below 500 meters, or the area with very low visibility is only a small part of it. As a kind of localized weather, fog has good visibility outside, but it is hazy inside. Therefore, it is easy for the driver to have clear vision one minute and cannot see the car in front of him the next minute . Fog is highly regional and difficult to predict, especially on highways. Fog can cause sudden changes in visibility, which is extremely harmful to highway traffic safety and can easily lead to major traffic accidents.

National fog forecast map from 8:00 to 20:00 on December 29, source: China Meteorological Administration, technical support provided by Aerospace Hongtu Information Technology Co., Ltd.

From a weather perspective, fog is formed when the ground suddenly and rapidly cools down, causing the air close to the ground to cool and the saturated humidity to drop, leading to condensation of water vapor.

The formation of fog requires three main conditions: sufficient humidity , large temperature difference between day and night , and very little wind .

Therefore, fog usually appears in suburbs, rural areas, mountainous areas, highways, and bridges. It usually appears at night or around 6-8 in the morning.

The world's six most famous foggy cities, Map: PIE-Engine Studio

London and Edinburgh in the UK, Chongqing in China, Tokyo in Japan, San Francisco in the US, and Ankara in Turkey are the world's six most famous foggy cities. Take Chongqing as an example. Chongqing has an average of 104 foggy days per year, while Yunwu Mountain in Bishan District of Chongqing has as many as 204 foggy days per year, making it truly a "foggy city". Therefore, the probability of fog in these places is also higher.

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02

Are you panicking when encountering fog?

Don't panic!

If you see fog blocking your view ahead, drivers should slow down and drive into the rightmost lane , provided that the distance and speed meet the lane change conditions and safety is ensured. Then, choose the nearest exit and drive out slowly or enter a nearby service area to take shelter and wait for the fog to dissipate. Don't worry, it will take about 40 minutes to an hour and a half for the clouds to clear and the moon to appear!

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Once the vehicle enters the foggy area, we should immediately slow down and turn on all lights ! Especially when entering the foggy area with very low visibility, you must never stop on the spot , because stopping on the spot is the most dangerous and is most likely to cause a series of rear-end collisions!

Fog is terrible. Only if we know ourselves and the enemy can we remain calm in times of danger!

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Source: PIE-Engine Earth Science Exploration

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