Icy weather sweeps the mainland
Temperatures fell dramatically across the mainland over the weekend as snow and freezing weather swept large parts of the country, forcing the closure of highways and flight delays.
The Central Meteorological Administration (CMA) yesterday warned of more cold weather in the coming days.
Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to plunge, with the Hong Kong Observatory predicting temperatures to drop to a minimum of 13 degrees Celsius today and 11 degrees tomorrow.
Snow and strong winds are expected to hit central, southern, eastern and northwestern China this week. Icy gales are expected to bring temperatures down by up to 14 degrees in northern China. Temperatures in southeastern cities will also plummet 6 to 10 degrees.
Beijing's temperature was minus 7 degrees yesterday - the coldest in five years.
In Tianjin , all flights were cancelled at Binhai International Airport due to heavy snow, which also blocked road and rail links.
Yantai in Shandong province also saw snowfall of up to 9.8cm. About 2,000 police and 300 snow-clearing machines were detailed to clear the streets of snow, local authorities said. Highways were closed and flights delayed.
The cold snap was characterised by especially fierce winds and drastic temperature drops, the CMA said.
It also said early warnings were being issued and contingency plans activated to minimise losses. This was the first time the CMA had activated such extensive emergency responses, mainland media said.
Hong Kong was warm and sunny yesterday with temperatures in Tuen Mun and Chek Lap Kok exceeding 27 degrees.
But winter woollies will be well employed from today onwards, and temperatures are likely to range from 13 degrees to 18 degrees on Christmas Eve, the Observatory forecasts. The mercury will climb gradually after Christmas Day.
