As the Chinese New Year approaches and the peak period of the Spring Festival travel rush arrives, China’s northern regions are facing multiple severe weather warnings including strong winds, cold waves, heavy fog, and blizzards. This has led to flight delays or cancellations, train suspensions, road closures, and some travelers being stranded on highways.
The China Meteorological Administration issued warnings for strong winds, cold waves, heavy fog, and blizzards on the evening of January 25, predicting widespread cooling temperatures and rain or snow in the central and eastern regions over the next three days, with some areas experiencing heavy fog.
On January 26, the Central Meteorological Administration continued to issue a blue warning for blizzards, forecasting that the first cold wave of the year would continue to affect China from the 26th to the 28th, with temperatures dropping in many areas in the central and eastern regions, and some parts of Liaoning and Jilin provinces experiencing heavy snow.
Between 8:00 on the 26th and 8:00 on the 27th, there is a forecast of heavy to blizzard snow in parts of eastern Inner Mongolia, southern Liaoning, southern Jilin, and the northern Shandong Peninsula. Some areas may see heavy snowfall, with snow accumulations ranging from 3 to 8 centimeters, locally exceeding 10 centimeters.
The Liaoning Provincial Meteorological Bureau issued a level I blizzard warning for highways on the 26th at 08:50.
From daytime on the 26th to nighttime on the 27th, there will be heavy snow in parts of Anshan, Benxi, Dandong, and Liaoyang, with snow accumulations ranging from 8 to 20 centimeters, and other areas experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall.
From the 26th to the 29th, temperatures in Liaoning province will gradually decrease from west to east, reaching lows of -26°C to -22°C in many areas by the morning of the 30th, with some mountainous areas dropping as low as -32°C to -27°C. Maximum gusts at sea will reach 10-11 on the Beaufort scale, and on land, 7-9, with some areas in Dalian having gusts up to 10.
With the Spring Festival travel rush in full swing ahead of the Chinese New Year, several provinces in the northern regions have implemented temporary traffic controls on some highways due to snowfall and icy road conditions.
According to Henan Traffic Radio, as of the early morning of the 25th, snow depths at two stations in Luanchuan and Songxian have exceeded 20 centimeters. Due to the impact of rain, snow, and thick fog, several highways in Henan province have imposed traffic restrictions.
Henan Expressway reported that several roads in Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Sanmenxia, Jiyuan, Nanyang, and Xuchang have prohibited all vehicles from entering certain sections. There are restrictions on vehicles with over seven or nine seats and vehicles carrying dangerous goods.
Many drivers have taken to the internet to share their traffic jam experiences, with some netizens saying, “I’ve been stuck on the highway for five hours.”
Quoted by Cover News, a self-driving driver named Mr. Su said that he was driving back to Shiyan City, Hubei Province from Beijing. Originally planning to arrive home on the 24th night, he was still stuck on National Highway 241 on the 25th noon, with nearly 15 centimeters of snow on the road and overturned private cars and fallen trees visible along the roadside.
He mentioned that he had only traveled 100 kilometers in 12 hours on the 25th, and around four or five in the morning, he was trapped near Linzikou on National Highway 241, along with fifty or sixty other cars, as the snow continued to fall.
In addition to Henan, highways in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Tianjin, Liaoning, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia have also implemented traffic controls due to snow and icy road conditions.
According to Gansu Traffic Police, as of 7 p.m. on the 25th, sections of highways in Jiuquan, Zhangye, Wuwei, Lanzhou, Linxia, Hezuo, and Qingyang in Gansu have accumulated snow and ice, resulting in temporary traffic restrictions at around 20 toll stations.
Due to the snowfall, flights at Lanzhou Airport in Gansu have experienced long delays.
According to Ningxia Traffic Police, as of 8:14 p.m. on the 25th, due to snowy weather conditions, dozens of toll booths at thirteen highways have been temporarily closed.
Some flights at Yinchuan Airport have been delayed or canceled, and the airport advises passengers to stay updated on flight information and plan their travel accordingly.
Beijing Capital Airport announced on the evening of the 25th that flights may experience delays due to continuous snowfall, urging passengers to pay attention to information before departing.
“Yunnan Meteorology” issued a statement stating that Kunming City will experience a significant temperature drop and rainy-snowy weather from the 26th to the 28th. Due to extreme weather conditions, some flights at Kunming Airport may be delayed or have adjusted departure times.
Multiple trains in Xinjiang have been suspended. Starting from the 24th, several trains from Urumqi Station and Urumqi South Station heading towards Southern Xinjiang, as well as those from Kashi to west Chengdu, and Korla to Urumqi, have all been stopped.
Xinjiang highway traffic police reported that certain road sections have been subject to traffic controls due to snowfall, with restrictions on hazardous goods, large passenger vehicles, and oversize transport vehicles on some sections of the G7 Beijing-Xinjiang Expressway. Exit toll stations along the route have been closed.
According to the China Ministry of Transport, as of 11 p.m. on the 25th, more than 160 road sections in Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Ningxia, and other provinces have been closed or restricted due to snow and icy road conditions, with the time for resuming traffic yet to be determined.
From the 26th to the 28th, snow depths in eastern Gansu, southern Ningxia, Shaanxi, southern Shanxi, and western Henan are expected to increase continuously. As these areas are mostly mountainous, all highways may face traffic disruptions, and more sections are likely to be closed or restricted in the coming days.