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Accidents and disasters in China
China

‘It’s warmer in the fridge’: cold snap freezes China, bringing snow, accidents and school closures

  • President Xi Jinping instructs local governments to prepare for possible disasters and ensure the safety of roads, heating and power systems
  • Frigid weather closes highways and forces Beijing trains and Guangdong ferries to suspend services, while Shanxi province reports power line failure

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A child plays on the Great Wall of China north of Beijing on Friday. Schools and some train services in the Chinese capital were shut down following a cold spell that brought snow to northern China. Photo: AFP
Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
A cold snap has pushed down low temperatures across most of China, forcing schools and roads to close in several provinces and disrupting rail services.
President Xi Jinping gave instructions on improving precautions for the freezing weather, asking local governments to ensure the safety of roads as well as heating and power systems and to prepare for possible disasters, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.

On Saturday, the National Meteorological Centre issued its first yellow alert for low temperatures this year – the least severe in China’s two-level warning system for cold weather.

From Saturday morning to Sunday morning, temperatures were forecast to drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius in parts of the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin as well the southern province of Guizhou and other areas south of the Yangtze River, the centre said, adding that temperatures in some regions could plunge by more than 12 degrees Celsius.

It said daily low or average temperatures in some parts of northern China would approach or break records for the same period.

The centre advised authorities to clear icy roads and protect crops and prevent failures in heating systems.

Road and other accidents were reported in northern China, where the cold snap first hit from Wednesday, and schools in several areas, including Beijing and Henan province, remained closed on Friday.

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