Snow finally falls in Beijing after long time
Print Edition
It has been a long time in coming, but the first snow of the winter began falling in Beijing early yesterday, the second-latest arrival in the capital for over 60 years.
The snowfall, only averaging 1.1 millimeters from 1am to 8am, ended 107 precipitation-free days in the city, which had suffered from a dry spell since light rain fell on October 22 last year, said the Beijing meteorological observatory.
Snowflakes were first seen in the southwestern suburb of Fangshan, and by 9am, snow was lying in most areas in the city. The snowfall was set to continue into last night.
Statistics from the Beijing environmental monitoring center show the snow has cleaned the air, dramatically reducing PM2.5 readings.
Since records began in 1951, the most delayed first winter snow in Beijing occurred only three years ago, in the winter of 2010/11, and arrived on February 10. The city’s longest winter drought, 114 days, came in the winter of 1970/71.
At 6:15am, the observatory issued a warning about icy roads during the morning rush hour. The local traffic management bureau said more police had been dispatched onto main roads to maintain order, as the snow slowed traffic, caused accidents and congestion.
Delays and cancellations
Snow caused delays to 52 flights and forced the cancellation another 34 at Beijing Capital International Airport as of 1pm yesterday.
Flights and railways between Shanghai and Beijing suffered a wide range of delays because of the snowfall.
Eight flights between Shanghai and Beijing were canceled while several others were delayed for at most two hours at the airports of the two cities yesterday.
“Snow and ice were accumulated on the aircraft at the Beijing airport, so each aircraft must undergo an ice removal process before takeoff and that cased the delays,” the Beijing Capital International Airport said.
Air China and China Southern airlines issued flight delay alert at the airport yesterday.
Dozens of train services between Beijing and Shanghai also suffered delays due to the snow.
The G1 high-speed railway between the Beijing Southern Station and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station suffered the longest two-hour delay yesterday.
The Shanghai Railway Bureau reminded passengers to stay in the waiting room at the stations and pay attention to the broadcasts on the latest railway conditions.
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