BEIJING: A cold snap will hit large swaths of China from Feb. 17 to 22, the national observatory said.
The cold wave will sweep across the central and eastern regions, bringing drastic temperature drops of up to about 20 degrees Celsius, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast.
There will be heavy snow in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong, while freezing rain will hit Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou.
The period is the peak time for the return journeys of the Spring Festival holiday, and the cold wave will have a significant impact on road, railway, aviation and water transportation, the NMC said. Earlier, due to the upcoming cold air, most areas in China are expected to experience dramatic weather fluctuations in temperature as well as large-scale rainy and snowy weather, a meteorological expert said yesterday.
During the cold air period from Saturday to next Thursday, central and eastern China will experience temperature drops of 10 C to 18 C, with declines in some parts even exceeding 20 C, said Zhang Fanghua, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Center.
She said that this wave of inclement weather will cause heavy snowfall in areas such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hubei and Anhui. Provinces like Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou will experience freezing rain.
Heavy rainfall is expected to hit some areas along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and central and northern Jiangnan area, a traditional Chinese concept to describe regions covering the south of the Yangtze River and the northern part of southern China.
“Temperatures are expected to increase from Feb 24 in the north and from Feb 26 or 27 in the south,” she added.
She also warned of the potential risks of the icy and snowy roads to the Spring Festival travel rush.
“Caused by the warm and humid airflow, this round of cold air will cause more intense rainfall and severe convective weather,” said Zhang, adding that the intensity of snowfall as well as the range and duration of freezing rain will not exceed the previous round with shorter low-temperature period.
Before the Spring Festival, some areas in Henan, Hubei and Hunan experienced the strongest inclement weather in 15 years. And the National Meteorological Center issued the first orange alert for freezing weather on Feb 1. –Agencies
