China’s capital hunkered down yesterday as rare typhoon-like gales swept 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°C.
The winds, which began on Friday, are set to continue over the weekend, with gusts of up to 150kph, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Photo: AFP
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.
By 11:30am yesterday, 838 flights had been canceled at the capital’s two major airports.
Photo: AP
Tourist attractions including the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo and the Universal Studios theme park were also temporarily closed yesterday.
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 forced the postponement of a half-marathon set for today featuring humanoid robots competing with humans in a bid to showcase China’s technological advances.
Photo: AP
Sandstorms raging over a stretch from Inner Mongolia to the Yangtze River region crippled road travel in eight provinces, state broadcaster CCTV and Xinhua 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 last year.
In May last year, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, killing 48 people.
Additional reporting by AFP
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