polarimetric dehazing methods have proven effective in enhancing the quality of chromatic hazy images. considering that the infrared radiance has a better capacity for traveling through the haze, in this paper we propose a polarimetric dehazing method based on visible and infrared image fusion to improve the visibility of hazy images, especially for dense haze conditions. experimental results demonstrate that the visibility of hazy images can be effectively enhanced, and the color information can be finely maintained. the visibility of dehazed images can be promoted at least 100%. this kind of dehazing method can be used widely in many dehazing applications. (c) 2016 optical society of america