'Spring City' freezes over as snow makes rare appearance
Print Edition
All flights from Shanghai to China’s southwestern Kunming, 20 from the Hongqiao airport and eight from the Pudong airport, were canceled yesterday after heavy snow fell on “Spring City” and froze its airport runways.
It had been hoped that a Lucky Air flight delayed from the morning would set off from Pudong last night but it was eventually canceled as airport officials at Kunming braced themselves for more wintry weather.
Snow is unusual in Yunnan’s provincial capital, which earned its nickname because even in summer and winter the climate is like spring. Kunming Changshui International Airport said more cancellations and delays are expected today and passengers on flights to and from the city should check with their airlines before leaving home.
Both runways at the airport were closed yesterday morning after snow and icy conditions made them unsuitable for takeoff and landing.
Staff and soldiers worked hard to clear snow up to 5 centimeters deep and de-ice the runways. They eventually reopened at 2:30pm.
Snow began to fall on Kunming at 9am on Sunday and some 150 flights had been canceled and more than 10,000 passengers stranded since then.
One angry passenger said they had to grab packed meals from other airlines to eat as no one seemed to be looking after them. He had waited three hours on a plane before being told his flight was canceled.
Snow continued to fall yesterday morning, disrupting all 12 airports in the province.
At Dehong Mangshi Airport, 11 flights were canceled and four delayed, affecting more than 1,600 passengers.
All four flights at Pu’er airport were canceled, and flights at Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Tengchong, Diqing, Baoshan, Zhaotong, Wenshan and Lincang were disrupted.
Several highways in the province closed due to the icy conditions but began to reopen in the afternoon.
Snow also hit parts of Zhejiang Province yesterday.
The National Meteorological Center yesterday maintained a rainstorm alert with rain set to continue to batter the country’s southern provinces.
Some regions in Guangdong, Hainan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces are expected to be hit by rainstorms today, with downpours in some areas up to 120 millimeters over a 24-hour period, the National Meteorological Center said. It warned local authorities to be on alert for flooding and landslides.
Yunnan and Guizhou provinces will experience temperature drops and moderate snowfall during the next three days due to a cold front, the center said.
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