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The outlines of buildings in the capital receded into a white mist as pedestrians donned face masks to guard against the thick, caustic air, which stranded passengers during the first week of the country’s peak, six week period for travel surrounding the Chinese New Year on February 10.

The US Embassy reported a peak level of PM2.5, one of the worst pollutants at 526 micrograms per cubic metre, or “beyond index”, and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organisation safety levels over a 24-hour period.

Beijing’s official readings for PM2.5 were lower than the embassy’s – 433 micrograms per cubic metre at one point in the afternoon – but even that level is considered “severe” and prompted the city government to advise residents to stay indoors as much as possible. The government said that, because there was no wind, the smog would probably not dissipate quickly.

Visibility was less than 100m in some areas of eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. More than 100 flights were cancelled in the eastern city of Zhengzhou, 33 in Beijing, 20 in Qindao and 13 in Jinan.

Every year, China’s transport system bursts at the seams as tens of millions of people travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, in the world’s largest seasonal migration of people.

Air pollution has long been a problem in Beijing, but the country has been more open about releasing statistics for some of the worst kinds of pollutants only since early last year. The city hit its highest readings since then two weeks ago, when US Embassy readings of PM2.5 reached as high as 886 micrograms per cubic metre.