Elderly couple in China get lost for 9 hours due to heavy smog

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An elderly couple recently got lost and wandered the city for hours due to the heavy smog in Nanjing, China. The couple, unidentified, set out for groceries early at 9 a.m, but could not find their way back home after heavy smog veiled the city.

The couple roamed around the city in an attempt to find their way back home, but was rendered unsuccessful as the smog made the buildings look identical. As per Jiangsu Broadcasting Network via The South China Morning Post last Nov. 29, the couple was discovered by a passerby after nine hours, at 6 p.m., who brought them to the police station.

According to the husband, he and his wife went out in the morning.  “I went outside with my wife to buy vegetables and could not find the way back,” he said in the report. “I had left my phone at home where no one could answer it.”

Authorities eventually contacted the couple’s daughter who fetched her parents from the police station.

It was last Monday, Nov. 26, when Nanjing issued a heavy fog red alert, closing down many roads and bridges due to poor visibility. Flights too, were delayed while locals were advised to travel via the train instead.

The Chinese government first declared a “war” on pollution back in 2014 to combat the country’s serious air pollution problem. Four years on, their war for clearer skies appears to be on the road to success.

A study last March showed that China has reduced the levels of PM 2.5, airborne particles considered most harmful to health, by 32 percent in just four years alone. China has come a long way that, as per the study, life expectancy in the country could rise by more than two years. Cody Cepeda/NVG

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