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Slow Jam: Smog, Signal Outage Clog Roads in China

<p>Traffic jams the streets of Xi'an, China, in heavy smog after the traffic lights failed on Feb. 25.</p>
Image: Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam in heavy smog after the traffic lights were broken-down
Image: Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam in heavy smog after the traffic lights failed in Xi'an, China.ChinaFotoPress / Getty Images

Traffic jams the streets of Xi'an, China, in heavy smog after the traffic lights failed on Feb. 25. Altogether, 1.43 million sq km of China, nearly 15 percent of its total size, have been covered by persistent smog in recent days.