Geminid meteor shower graces night skies in China

The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, reached its peak on Sunday, offering stunning views in multiple Chinese provinces.

From Sunday night into the early hours of Monday, photographers in north China's Shanxi Province captured the breathtaking spectacle of meteors streaking across the night sky.

With a high altitude, the Changbai Mountains in northeast China's Jilin Province offered excellent and open viewing conditions.

Alongside the Quadrantids in January and the Perseids in August, the Geminids are regarded as one of the Northern Hemisphere's most significant and reliable meteor showers.

Known for its high and steady activity, the Geminids can reach a peak zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of up to 150 meteors per hour.

What distinguishes the Geminids is their origin. While most meteor showers come from comets, the Geminids are produced by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, a near-Earth object whose orbit intersects those of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Each year around December 14, Earth passes through debris left along Phaethon's orbit, creating the Geminid meteor shower.

Geminid meteor shower graces night skies in China

Dense fog led to temporary traffic control on several sections of local expressways in east China's Jiangxi Province on Monday morning, prompting the provincial meteorological observatory to issue a yellow fog warning.

From the early hours of the morning, thick fog enveloped sections of major expressways, reducing visibility to less than 200 meters.

The local authorities promptly activated the emergency response and implemented restrictions at some of the affected expressway toll stations.

The Jiangxi Provincial Meteorological Bureau activated a yellow warning for the heavy fog at 05:45, reminding drivers to prioritize traffic safety.

At around 08:30, as the temperature began to rise, the thick fog gradually dissipated, allowing traffic to resume on all the affected expressways.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

Dense fog leads to temporary traffic control expressways in Jiangxi