On Saturday, the National Meteorological Centre issued its first yellow alert for low temperatures this year – the least severe in China’s two-level warning system for cold weather.
Northern China on alert for snow onslaught and record low temperatures
From Saturday morning to Sunday morning, temperatures were forecast to drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius in parts of the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin as well the southern province of Guizhou and other areas south of the Yangtze River, the centre said, adding that temperatures in some regions could plunge by more than 12 degrees Celsius.
It said daily low or average temperatures in some parts of northern China would approach or break records for the same period.The centre advised authorities to clear icy roads and protect crops and prevent failures in heating systems.
Road and other accidents were reported in northern China, where the cold snap first hit from Wednesday, and schools in several areas, including Beijing and Henan province, remained closed on Friday.
On Friday, a power line failure in the central province of Shanxi led to a county-wide blackout.
Authorities in Liaocheng in the eastern province of Shandong prepared nearly 300,000 tents, cotton clothes and quilts as relief supplies for those affected by the low temperatures.
Beijing Daily said temperatures in the city could drop below minus 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit), with highs around minus 5 degrees Celsius from Saturday to Thursday.
Some train services in and out of Beijing were suspended on Saturday.
A total of 515 people were sent to hospitals after train carriages detached on a busy commuter line in the Chinese capital on Thursday evening.Beijing authorities said on Friday that an initial investigation into the incident found that the train had come to an emergency stop after “a signal was downgraded”, but the sloping terrain caused the carriages to slip on the icy rails and collide. The city’s Changping line, where the accident occurred, resumed service on Saturday.
State broadcaster CCTV said that as of 6am on Saturday, 308 sections of road across the country had been closed because of snow and icy roads, with 201 highways fully closed.
The poor road conditions let to a spike in traffic on Shijiazhuang’s subway system on Thursday. Authorities in the Hebei provincial capital said on Friday the city’s buses and subways would be free for half a month to encourage commuters to use public transport in the cold weather.
Areas south of the Yangtze River, which have seen less snowfall in recent years, were also affected by the cold snap. Some cities, including Wuhan and Nanjing, saw their first snow of the winter.
Online news outlet The Paper reported on Saturday that 387 electrical repair companies in Shanghai were on standby to help residents whose air conditioner heating mode had failed.
Police in the eastern metropolis launched an operation to rescue homeless people.
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The eastern coastal province of Zhejiang issued an emergency notice on Friday, advising residents to spend less time outdoors over the weekend. The province’s 128 shipping routes have been suspended due to the cold wave.
In the southern province of Guangdong, 29 passenger ferry routes were also suspended.
Qinghai, a northwestern province near Tibet, also launched a cold wave emergency plan.
According to the meteorological centre, the snow in northern China was forecast to ease from Friday, but rain, snow and lower temperatures are expected across central, eastern and southern China.
“I am waiting for the cold snap in a T-shirt and shorts,” a social media user said of the sudden temperature drop in the southern province of Guangdong.
“I’m in the northeast and it’s warmer in the fridge than outside, ” another joked.
Another Weibo user said: “No matter what warnings you are giving, I just want to go out and see the snow!”
