The Chinese capital welcomed the first significant snowfall of this winter on December 12, when a strong cold front overflowed the area, according to information from the Beijing City Meteorological Station.
Most of the inner city will have moderate snowfall, while the southern and mountainous areas may have heavy snow.
According to forecaster Zhang Linna of the Beijing Meteorological Station, snow will start in the western mountainous areas in the early morning of December 12 and gradually spread to the plains.
The heaviest snowfall period is expected to occur from noon to late evening, after which the snow will gradually decrease overnight in the plains, but the mountainous areas will continue to have snow until the morning of December 13.
The temperature will drop sharply, especially on weekends. On the night of December 13, the lowest temperature is forecast to reach minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The weather forecast agency warns that snowfall will cause slippery roads, reduced visibility, easily causing congestion and traffic accidents, especially in steep mountain passes and mountainous areas.
Meanwhile, a strong snowstorm has swept through many areas of Xinjiang Autonomous Region since December 10, disrupting traffic and greatly affecting daily life.
In the capital Urumqi, heavy snow covered the streets, making the road slippery and slow for vehicles to move. Sanitation workers and snow trucks are mobilized to the maximum, working day and night to clear the road.
In Thach Ha Tu city west of Urumqi, snow clearing work is implemented according to a close coordination model. Large bulldozers divided into groups of 4-5 vehicles to clear the main road, while small machines handled the sidewalk. In places where machinery could not enter, workers used shovels to clean by hand.
Road and railway traffic in Xinjiang were severely affected by storms and snow. Many sections of the expressway must be partially or completely closed, the time of reopening has not been determined. A series of passenger trains have also had to be canceled since December 11 due to storms and snow.
The cold spell caused the minimum temperature in many places to drop to minus 10 to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
It is forecasted that in the next few days, some areas of Xinjiang will continue to have snow. The temperature may drop to around minus 15 degrees Celsius.
