BEIJING: Meteorologists warned of low temperatures, blizzards and strong winds on Sunday as a cold wave swept through central and eastern parts of China, prompting authorities to secure heating, uninterrupted electricity supply and safe transportation amid the freeze.
The National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert for a cold wave and blue alerts for snow and wind on Sunday morning. China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Due to the cold wave that is expected to affect large parts of central and eastern China till Tuesday, Sun Jun, chief forecaster at the center, said in an interview on Saturday that the affected areas will see temperatures drop by 6C, with worst-hit areas likely to see temperatures plummet by as much as 14C.
“Temperatures in parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei will plummet by more than 14C,” Sun said.
The cold wave will bring snowfall to Northwest China and some central provinces, while the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, will witness sleet in some areas through Friday, according to Sun.
“Special attention should be paid to the weather’s impact on transportation, energy supply and electricity maintenance,” he added.
“This cold spell won’t be as severe as the one in December, but it will have a strong and widespread impact, especially in the southern regions. Overall, the decrease in minimum temperature will be relatively more significant than the fall in maximum temperature,” Sun said.
The Ministry of Emergency Management said on Friday evening that it had held a joint meeting with the meteorological, public security, transportation and energy authorities, as well as local authorities in 13 provincial-level regions, to evaluate the impact of the cold wave and arrange precautionary and response measures. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
