A new round of strong cold air that rolled in on Saturday has brought the first snow of the New Year to large swathes of northern and northeastern China and foggy weather to southern provinces. While it causes inconvenience to commuters, residents welcome the New Year's snow as promising a fruitful year for China.
The new cold snap is gripping most parts of China, bringing blizzards to major northern provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shandong provinces, with temperatures in some areas expected to plunge to as low as 18 degrees Celsius and snow piling up to 12 inches.
The snowfall and record-low temperatures in more than a decade have forced primary and secondary schools in Beijing and Tianjin to close amid safety concerns and prevention of the spread of the A(H1N1) flu virus, a very rare move in recent years.
Shao Changjie, a 29-year-old English teacher at the Beijing 65th Middle School, told the Global Times that the school has never been ordered to close in her eight-year teaching experience.
The meteorological center also issued a cold-snap warning in Beijing and predicted that the heavy snow would be followed by strong northern winds of up to force 6, and the temperature of the nation's capital is expected to touch 40-year lows of -16 C today and tomorrow.
The country's busiest airport, Beijing's Capital International, saw 520 flights delayed and 655 canceled by 7 pm Sunday, according to China Radio International. Only one of its runways was open.
China Southern Airlines, one of the country's largest airlines, stopped all flights to Beijing Sunday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Airports in some northern cities, including Tianjin and Huhhot, were also closed Sunday.
Source: Global Times
