Transport networks jammed up by weather in northern China
Trains delayed, roads closed and flights cancelled as snow and ice combine with smog
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 3:35am
UPDATED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 5:13am
Stephen Chen [email protected]
Working staff clear snow at a platform of Shenyang North Railway Station in Shenyang, Liaoning. Photo: Xinhua
Roads were closed, flights cancelled and trains delayed in northern China yesterday as the region was hit by snow, ice, fog and smog.
The international airport in Changchun , in Jilin province , had to be closed yesterday morning because of ice on the runways, Xinhua reported. About 40 flights were disrupted.
Snow and ice also forced the authorities to close highways in Songyuan and Baicheng in the province.
Tongliao airport in Inner Mongolia had to be closed at noon yesterday because of snow and ice.
Further north in Heilongjiang province , blizzards had swept through the cities of Harbin and Jiamusi , Xinhua said.
An expressway linking Harbin and Mudanjiang had to be closed and traffic restrictions were imposed on another highway linking the provincial capital and Tongjiang . About a dozen roads had been closed in Liaoning province since heavy snow started to fall on Friday, the authorities said.
In Beijing, roads were shut after visibility plummeted due to high air pollution. Snow eased yesterday morning in the capital, allowing smog to build up rapidly in the drier conditions.
Authorities had previously said that fireworks set off for Lunar New Year had contributed to the smog.
Roads were also closed because of poor visibility in Tianjin and neighbouring Hebei province , Xinhua reported.
Many high-speed rail lines in central and northern areas of the country had to reduce the speed of trains because of the poor weather conditions.
In eastern Shandong province, fog alerts were issued in cities including Yantai and Liaocheng , with visibility on some roads down to less than 200 metres, Xinhua said.
More snow is expected to blanket much of the northern and central areas of the country.
Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces are expected to be worst hit. Up to 11cm of snow could fall in these areas, meteorologists said.
Beijing and other areas saw their first significant snowfall on Thursday.
More than 300 flights were delayed at the capital's airport on Friday, according to the Beijing Times. The airport reported no major delays yesterday.
Flights were disrupted at other airports, mainly in the northeast of the country.
