The second cold wave has covered Beijing in China with snow, ice

BEIJING, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Snow, strong winds and plummeting temperatures swept northern China in what could be one of its deadliest December winters, prompting authorities in the capital stop train services, close schools and ask people to stay at home.

Most of the cold air flowed into Beijing from the west, the second cold wave this week. City officials have issued the second-highest hurricane warning through Thursday, the only warning in the country.

To stop the chaos threatened by what was expected to be a “permanent” cycle of snow, the city closed all nearly 22 million schools from Wednesday and moved classes online. Businesses were told to offer workers flexible working conditions and commuting.

“We will try not to travel,” said a 36-year-old Beijing resident surnamed Liu, whose son’s school was closed after it snowed for the second time since yesterday. Monday.

“It’s cold, and the roads are definitely bad.”

Scenic spots in the north and west mountains are temporarily closed.

Some train services and important cities, such as the commercial hubs of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, were suspended. The trains that were still running slowed down, causing delays. But Beijing Airport continued to operate.

Beijing may face temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend, compared to mid-December temperatures of minus 8 C (17.6 F ).

Even Shanghai in the south, which is currently experiencing summer temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius (68 F), is predicted to be affected by winter temperatures of less than 4 C (24.8 F) in on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 6,000 rescuers are on call for emergency road rescues and more than 5,800 sets of snow removal equipment and equipment are on standby.

About 32,000 tons of snow has been prepared for use on icy roads and highways.

City officials announced volunteers to clear snow and shovel ice, adding to the 73,000 people on duty to perform these tasks, and turn on the heating. inside.

Beijing finally experienced a cold weather on January 7, 2021, when the temperature dropped below 19.6 C (minus 3.28 F). The city’s all-time low of 27.4 C (minus 17.32 F), was recorded on Feb. 22, 1966.

This week’s cold weather, compared to last week’s fall-like conditions, reflects the large changes in temperature recently. October is one of the warmest summers in Beijing in many years, in a year of extreme weather.

As northern China struggles with colder-than-normal conditions, Hangzhou will officially begin winter on December 16, two weeks behind schedule and the latest since record. started in 1951.

The city, near Shanghai, had to record five straight days of minus-10 C temperatures to signal the arrival of winter.

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The temperature can drop above 14 C, in the north, northwest and south of China, including parts of Inner Mongolia, Guizhou province and even the southern regions of the Yangtze River, weather officials said.

Issuing its first warning since 2013 against cold temperatures, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) urged local governments to take precautions, with measures to protect crops tropical and aquatic.

More rain and snow is expected in the central and eastern parts until Friday, with 30 mm (1.2 inches) of rain in storms in parts of Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces.

Snow accumulation could be the highest for the same period in a decade, it added.

Most of the rivers are already frozen in the northeastern part of Heilongjiang bordering Russia.

Since December 10, daily rainfall has exceeded the December “severe” in nearly 130 weather stations in provinces such as Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi and Hebei, the NMC said.

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