Cold winds sweep Beijing, closing key sites, disrupting travel
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Passengers wait at the Yiwu airport in Yiwu, China’s eastern Zhejiang province, on April 12.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING – China’s capital hunkered down on April 12 as rare typhoon-like gales swept the northern regions, forcing the closure of historic sites and disrupting travel while bringing late snowfalls and hailstone showers in some areas.
Windows shook and cars were rocked by gusts of wind driven by a cold vortex from neighbouring Mongolia that sent temperatures plunging more than 12 deg C.
The winds, which started on April 11, are set to continue over the weekend, packing gusts of up to 150kmh, the official Xinhua news agency said.
They brought late snowfalls in Inner Mongolia and hailstones in southern China.
Beijing issued its second-highest gale alert this weekend, for the first time in a decade, warning 22 million residents to avoid non-essential travel as winds could potentially break April records dating from 1951.
After earlier warnings, some residents said they were very nervous but still managed to get around.
“It wasn’t as severe as I had imagined – not to the point where it was impossible to go out – though it is having some impact on daily life,” said a 30-year-old local resident, surnamed Li.
By 2pm, winds had felled 703 trees in Beijing while 693 flights had been cancelled at its two international airports – Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing, state media reported.
The winds dominated social media chats, with many people expressing concern for food delivery workers braving the conditions.
“In weather like this, we can choose not to order delivery. It’s too hard for them,” one Weibo user wrote.
Train services including the airport’s express subway line and some high-speed rail lines have also been suspended, said CCTV.
Tourist attractions including the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo and the Universal Studios theme park were also temporarily closed on April 12.
Almost 300 trees in the Chinese capital had toppled and 19 vehicles had been damaged, CCTV said, adding that no injuries due to the strong winds had been reported in Beijing yet.
The winds also forced the postponement of a half-marathon set for April 13 featuring humanoid robots competing with humans in a bid to showcase China's technological advances.
Sandstorms raging over a stretch from Inner Mongolia to the Yangtze River region crippled road travel in eight provinces, Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said.
Strong winds bringing sand and dust from Mongolia are routine in spring, but climate change has made weather events more extreme.
China is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say are driving climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Dozens of people were killed and thousands evacuated during storms that caused severe flooding around the country in 2024.
In May, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, killing 48 people. REUTERS, AFP
