To be in a fog or to be in a haze

Fig. confused, not alert; dazed; not paying attention to what is going on around one

To be lost in the mists of time

Fig. to be forgotten because it happened a long time ago

To mist over or to mist up

Fig. to fog up; to develop a coating of water vapor so that one cannot see

To see the red mist

Fig. to lose temper or self-control completely

Scotch mist

Fig. something hard to find or non-existing; something imagined

霞 【かすみ】 kasumi, (spring) mist [frequently translated as 'haze']

朝霞 【あさがすみ】 asagasumi, morning mist
夕霞 【ゆうがすみ】 yūgasumi, evening mist
遠霞 【とおがすみ】 tōgasumi, distant mist

This refers to being unable to see things in the distance because they are obscured by a somewhat cloudy atmosphere. This is not a meteorologist’s technical term, but indicates mist made up of fine droplets of water floating in the air. The phenomenon is common in autumn, with ‘fog’ (霧【きり】 kiri) being the established autumn kidai; ‘mist’ (霞【かすみ】 kasumi), is the term for spring. It seems that water vapor rising in warm air, making all of nature look blurred and calm, permeates things with the tranquillity of spring.
In addition to ‘morning mist’, ‘evening mist’, and ‘distant mist’, poets use such phrases as ‘the grass is misty’ (草霞む【くさかすむ】 kusa kasumu) and ‘the bell is mist-muffled’ (鐘霞む【かねかすむ】 kane kasumu). However, when the same phenomenon occurs at night, it is called ‘misty’ (朧【おぼろ】 oboro).

霧 【きり】 kiri, autumn mist / fog

狭霧 【さぎり】 sagiri, thin fog / thin autumn mist
霧襖 【きりふすま】 kirifusuma（きりぶすま）, wall of fog/mist [literally 'fog fusuma', sliding door of fog]

From Bashō:

kirishigure / fuji o minu hi zo / omoshiroki

in the misty rain
Mount Fuji is veiled all day —
how intriguing!

All of this that is happening to me, and happening to others about me, is it reality or is it fiction? May not all of it perhaps be a dream of God, or of whomever it may be, which will vanish as soon as He wakes?
And therefore when we pray to Him, and cause canticles and hymns to rise to Him, is it not that we may lull Him to sleep, rocking the cradle of His dreams? Is not the whole liturgy, of all religions, only a way perhaps of soothing God in His dreams, so that He shall not wake and cease to dream us?

Todo esto que me pasa y que les pasa a los que me rodean, ¿es realidad o es ficción? ¿No es acaso todo esto un sueño de Dios o de quien sea, que se desvanecerá en cuanto Él despierte, y por eso le rezamos y le elevamos a Él cánticos e himnos, para adormecerle, para acunar su sueño? ¿No es acaso la liturgia toda de todas las religiones un modo de brezar el sueño de Dios y que no despierte y deje de soñarnos?

Current satellite image of the Grand Banks
© Environment Canada / NOAA Polar Orbiting Sat imagery

The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, Canada, with over 200 foggy days each year.

Fog is frequent here as the Grand Banks is the meeting place of the cold Labrador Current from the north and the much warmer Gulf Stream from the south. The cold Labrador Current runs over the Grand Banks, and when warm air passes over this water, a dense fog forms.

The fog, shallow waters and drifting icebergs make navigation difficult in this region. About 150 km south of the Grand Banks lies the shipwreck of the Titanic.

The foggiest land areas in the world are Point Reyes, California, and Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, both with around 200 foggy days a year.

Grand Banks / Map by Planiglobe

Fog in the Grand Banks / photo courtesy of M. Theberge, Maine Maritime Academy

Clouds found on the earth’s surface which obscure visibility to less than 1000 metres are called fog. Ground fog or low lying fog refers to fog located below eye level. Fog is formed when vapour-laden air cools down or when cool air and warm air mix together. The names given to sorts of fog in meteorology reveal the conditions under which a given sort is formed.

Radiation fog is formed by surface radiation during periods of clear weather as the ground temperature decreases after sundown. The cooler and heavier air flows down an incline towards ditches, where it combines with moister air and creates fog.

Radiation fog can form above snow around sundown when temperatures are very low. It can be very dense and reduce local visibility to less than 10 metres. When fog and wet roads begin to freeze, road conditions become slippery. Fog can also form above snow when the thaw sets in, as the warmer air flows over the cold snow. The fog is formed by the movement of warmer air, so that conditions are also often windy.

At sea, fog forms when cool air flows over relatively warm seawater or when warm air comes into contact with the cold sea. In the spring and early summer, warm air coming from Southern Europe can cause a mass of dense fog (a fog bank) to form above the cold North Sea. If the offshore wind is not strong enough, during the afternoon wind will blow the fog inland from the coast. This type of sea fog which suddenly moves in from the sea is called sea smoke.

Frontal fog forms when rain falls from warm air relatively high up in the atmosphere through cooler air on the ground. The rain is warmer as it falls through the cold air, causing fog to form. Rain can also cause saturation fog when the sun comes out after a storm and there is not much wind. In the bright sunlight we can see the vapour rise up off streets and roofs.

Visibility is measured with a device called a transmissometer: a lamp that projects a narrow beam of light on to a photoelectric cell detector. When it is foggy, the light will disperse among the water droplets so that less light is emitted to the photoelectric cell a short distance away. Less light means denser fog and more limited visibility. Transmissometers can be found at airports, among other places, where they are used to measure visibility on runways. On motorways, a specially adapted version of these visibility detectors is used to give fog alerts. Electrical warning signs alert motorists and display a new maximum speed limit.

Transmissometer at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute KNMI (photo Laura d'Ors)