Temperatures in northern China may fall to the lowest in half a century, threatening to disrupt transportation system and power supplies.
Beijing temperatures are forecast to drop as low as minus 16 degrees tonight, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Northern China may have 50-year low temperatures today, China Central Television reported yesterday.
Schools in the Chinese capital were shut after it was hit by the heaviest daily snowfall since 1951 on January 3rd, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Premier Wen Jiabao called on local authorities that same day to ensure food supplies, agricultural production and the safety of transportation, Xinhua reported.
Snowfalls have hampered transportation of coal to power plants in the eastern province of Shandong, reducing inventories of the fuel in the region to 2.7 million metric tons, enough for less than nine days of consumption, the Dazhong Daily newspaper reported today. That's below the recommended minimum level of 15 days, it said.
Reduced coal supplies are threatening the "stable operations" at power stations in Shandong, the daily reported. Power-station coal stockpiles are falling in northern, eastern and central China because of weather-related disruption to deliveries of the fuel, the China Business News reported yesterday.
Some cities started to limit electricity supply because of reduced coal stockpiles, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified official from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Beijing Capital International Airport had reopened all of its three runways by 12 p.m. local time yesterday, the China National Radio reported. The airport cancelled more than 500 flights, CCTV reported.
A train from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital, to Tongliao city resumed operation at 5.53pm yesterday after being stuck for 21 hours because of snow, the National Radio said.
Bloomberg