NORTHERN China is bracing for typhoon-like gales this weekend, with Beijing postponing major sporting events, closing parks, suspending dozens of train services and warning its 22 million residents against non-essential travel. Dozens of flights were cancelled.
A cold vortex from Mongolia was forecast to sweep across northern Chinese provinces from yesterday afternoon through the weekend, bringing unusually powerful winds, with gusts of up to 150kph.
Strong winds carrying sand and dust from Mongolia are normal at this time of the year, but climate change has made weather events more extreme.
Beijing issued its first orange gale alert in 10 years for this weekend, the second-highest of four tiers.
Temperatures in the capital are set to fall by 12°C today, and meteorologists warned that wind speeds could rival or exceed April records dating back to 1951.
Heavy snow is expected to blanket parts of the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia as well as northeast China, while southern China could be hit by the most intense hailstorms so far this year.
A half marathon in Beijing scheduled for tomorrow, in which humanoid robots were due to race alongside humans, has been postponed by a week.
Fifty-six train services to or from the capital were cancelled yesterday and 103 for today.
As of noon local time, China Southern Airlines had cancelled 31 flights yesterday and 17 for today.
More than 4,800 trees across the city were also either reinforced or pruned to reduce the risk that they would break or fall. — Reuters
