Severe cold air swept across northern China starting from February 21st, bringing a combination of extreme weather conditions including cold wave, snowstorms, strong winds, and sandstorms. Many areas were shrouded in yellow sand, with tourists being blown down by strong winds, leading to the emergency closure of multiple scenic spots and flight delays.
On the night of February 21st, the China Meteorological Administration continued to issue warnings for cold wave, strong winds, sandstorms, and snowstorms. Due to the influence of cold air, temperatures in the northern regions dropped significantly.
From the night of the 21st to the 22nd, temperatures in large parts of Inner Mongolia, northern regions of northwest China, most of northeast China, many areas in north China, and eastern parts of Huang-Huai would drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius. Specifically, in some areas like eastern Inner Mongolia, southern Heilongjiang, large parts of Jilin, and northeastern Liaoning, temperatures could drop by 12 to 14 degrees Celsius, with some places experiencing even more than a 14-degree decrease.
Eastern Inner Mongolia and northeastern China were forecasted to have rainy and snowy weather, with areas in northeastern Inner Mongolia, the central-western parts of Heilongjiang, western Jilin, and the western part of northern Xinjiang seeing heavy to severe snowfall. Particularly, there were reports of severe snowstorms in parts of western Heilongjiang.
Under the drastic temperature drop brought by the cold wave, widespread strong winds also made their appearance simultaneously.
Many northern areas experienced strong winds as well. From the night of the 21st to the 22nd, areas including large parts of Inner Mongolia, most of the northeast, eastern parts of Xinjiang, northern Tibet, northern Ningxia, substantial parts of north China, northeastern and eastern Shandong, central Henan, saw areas with wind speeds of level 5 to 7, with gusts reaching level 8 to 10, and locally exceeding level 11.
The strong winds also brought the most widespread and intense sandstorms so far this year.
By 2 p.m. on the 21st, the eastern edge of the sandstorm had advanced to the cities of Zhangjiakou and Shijiazhuang in western Hebei, while the southern edge reached Lanzhou and Dingxi in Gansu, Baoji and Xi’an in Shaanxi, and cities like Linfen and Jinzhong in Shanxi.
Localized sandstorms and severe sandstorms occurred in parts of western Inner Mongolia. Areas in the east and south of Xinjiang, central and western Inner Mongolia, northeastern Qinghai, central Gansu, Ningxia, most of Shaanxi, Shanxi, large parts of Liaoning, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei, the northern part of Hunan, and the northern part of Zhejiang all experienced blowing sand or floating dust.
Due to the extreme weather, wind speeds significantly increased in many locations in Shanxi.
On the morning of the 21st, the Shanxi Meteorological Bureau upgraded the wind warning to yellow in many cities including Datong, Shuozhou, Xinzhou, Lvliang, Taiyuan, Yangquan, Jinzhong, Changzhi, and Jincheng, with average wind speeds registering level 5 to 7 and gusts exceeding level 9.
Datong Meteorological Observatory upgraded the wind warning to orange around noon on the 21st. The whole city experienced wind speeds of 6 to 8 levels on average, with gusts reaching 10 to 11 levels or even higher.
On the same day, the Hengshan Scenic Area in Hunyuan County, Datong, was hit by obvious blowing sand weather. Video footage showed yellow sand covering the sky like a wall, descending rapidly from the horizon, instantly enveloping the mountains and buildings, causing a sharp drop in visibility. Visitors at the foot of Hengshan Mountain were thrust back by the fierce winds, some stumbling and falling, with sand and rocks hitting their faces.
A tourist visiting the Hanging Temple in Shanxi expressed that on the morning of the 21st, the weather already looked gloomy, and around 2 p.m. when they descended the mountain, they encountered strong winds. Recorded videos showed yellow sand swirling around at the foot of the mountains, shaking the stalls of vendors, who urgently pressed down on their goods to prevent them from being blown away.
In response to the extreme weather, multiple scenic spots took emergency measures to close on the 21st. Hengshan Scenic Area announced at noon the halt of ticket sales. Events like the “Fifth Day of the First Lunar Month Car Parade” scheduled to be held in Datong Ancient City were abruptly canceled, and attractions like the ancient city lantern festival and ski resorts temporarily shut down.
Apart from Datong, places like Yangquan Cangshan Tourist Scenic Area in Shanxi, and the Ice Sculpture Cultural Exhibition Area in Laoniuwan Scenic Area, Pianquan County, Xinzhou, also issued temporary closure notices.
In Hebei, Shijiazhuang Zhengding Ancient City Lantern Festival was suspended for a day, and attractions like Baodu Fortress and Huangjinzhai closed temporarily.
On the 21st, Beijing’s Lugou Bridge Scenic Area, Wanping City Wall, and World Park remained closed, while the Yanqi Lake Scenic Area postponed its opening till noon on the 22nd.
Due to the extreme weather, airports in Beijing, Datong, Shijiazhuang, and other places experienced multiple flight delays.
According to the information displayed on the Air Travel Longitudinal APP, the impact on Datong Yungang Airport in Shanxi was particularly severe, with nearly all flights delayed for seven to eight hours on daytime flights, all of which were pushed to depart in the evening.
In the afternoon of the 21st, a number of flights at Hohhot Baita Airport were directly canceled, with several more delayed in the evening.
As of 9 p.m. on the 21st, due to severe weather conditions, 5% of flights at Beijing Capital Airport were delayed by over 30 minutes.
The meteorological department forecasted that over the next two days, the northern regions would continue to experience strong winds, temperature drops, and sandstorm conditions.