Strong Cold Wave Hits Beijing, Pushes Heating Capacity Of Cities In Northern China To Its Limit

Weather experts said that a strong cold wave had hit Beijing as it also pushed the heating capacity of cities in Northern China to its limit.

Officials said that China's capital had recorded its longest cold wave since records began in 1951.

Temperatures in the city have frequently fallen below -10 degrees Celsius this month. Experts noted that it has been a year of extremes in the capital in which six months ago, Beijing recorded its hottest ever June day, at just over 40 degree Celsius.

This as the biting temperatures and snowfall being experienced by residents in Beijing and elsewhere in the country had begun to ease.

Cold Wave Affecting Chinese Provinces

Meteorologists indicated that the temperature recorded at Beijing's Nanjiao weather station rose to above zero degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday afternoon.

They noted that since the temperature first dropped to below zero degrees on December 11, the temperature had remained below that line for more than 300 hours.

The strong cold wave has affected provinces across China, with schools in some areas being forced to close and transport services facing challenges and difficulties in their operations.

Furthermore, the persistent cold weather has put energy supplies in Henan province under strain, with reports that some heating boilers have broken down due to the weather condition.

Temperatures Near Historic Lows

To recall, large swathes of China, including its northwest, have been gripped by a sudden cold snap in the early days of December, with temperatures plunging to near historic lows in some of the northern areas.

This weather condition had forced some highway closures around China's capital as the unusually icy conditions disrupted road, rail and even aviation networks.

The cold snap had moved from several northern provinces hit by blizzards towards the central and southern areas, such as the province of Guizhou. This then pushed deep into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River delta.

Moreover, sections of highways under the Beijing traffic authority's purview, including the Daxing Airport, which was an outer ring road linked to neighboring Hebei as well as parts of expressways to Shanghai and Guangdong province in the south, had been temporarily shut due to the strong snow.

Weather forecasters had explained that the sharp falls in the temperatures were expected over the next days, particularly in the southern portion of the country.

China's national forecaster had said that the strongest cold wave this winter would sweep across most parts of the country, noting that it will reach as far as the southern-most tip that is tropical island Hainan.

Authorities said that many places in the north would experience record-breaking cold, while temperatures in the south will reverse from warm to cold.

In the city of Jiaozuo, the heating was partially halted after a dysfunction at the Wanfang power plant last Friday.

Authorities said that the problem was solved on Saturday and heating is expected to resume on Sunday night.

Two other cities in the province, Puyang and Pingdingshan, have cut heating to most government buildings and state-owned enterprises since Friday in order to prioritize limited heating resources for hospitals, schools as well as the residential buildings.