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China is experiencing a severe cold spell that has brought record-low temperatures, snowstorms, sandstorms, and traffic chaos across the country.
The cold wave hit just as millions of people were returning from their week-long Lunar New Year holiday, the biggest annual celebration in China. Many travellers were stranded on railways and roads due to blizzards and icy rain.
On Sunday, the temperature in Tuerhong township of Fuyun county in Xinjiang, China’s far western region, plunged to minus 52.3 degrees Celsius, the lowest since records began in the region. It was also close to the national record of minus 53 degrees Celsius set in Mohe, a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, last year.
The cold weather has affected more than 850 kilometers of roads in Altay, a region in northern Xinjiang, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Highway authorities have deployed dozens of vehicles and rescuers to clear the snow.
The regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, as well as the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, have closed hundreds of toll stations and road sections, CCTV reported on Monday.
The National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert, the second highest in a four-tier system, for freezing weather conditions across the country until Thursday. The most severely affected areas will include parts of Inner Mongolia, northeastern China, the central province of Hubei and Hunan in the south, the Global Times newspaper said.
China has witnessed extreme weather events over the past year, ranging from sandstorms to torrential rain and record-breaking heat waves, as well as several typhoons.
Over the weekend, severe sandstorms swept several cities in the region of Ningxia Hui, including its capital of Yinchuan.
On Sunday, the Wuhan Meteorological Observatory warned that the city, which was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak last year, will face a cold wave, strong winds, low temperatures, rain, snow, and freezing weather from February 18 to 24, posing a high risk of disasters and requiring strengthened prevention measures.
The cold wave has also affected other parts of the country. In Liaoning province, the precipitation changed from rain to snow on Sunday night, leading to the closure of all but a few toll stations in the province.
Local authorities have taken measures such as using snow-melting agents and conducting snow and ice removal operations at night to reduce the impact of severe weather on the Spring Festival travel rush.
Meanwhile, Beijing will see a significant temperature drop and a dual warning for strong winds and cold waves in the next two days. The lowest temperature in the capital will be between minus 6 and minus 3 degrees Celsius from February 19 to 27.
Starting from Tuesday, most of the southern regions will also experience a drop in temperature due to the combined effects of the cold wave and rain and snow. The highest temperatures in Southern China will quickly plummet to single digits, and even the areas along the Yangtze River may drop close to freezing point, according to media reports.
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