Snow hits northern China

China has hiked the national alert to the second-highest level on snowstorms that are expected to hit northern regions over the next few days. Heavy snow has hit central and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern and western parts of Hebei Province, and most parts of Beijing.

The National Meteorological Center issued an alert on a cold snap in east China, which is expected to bring gales and drop temperatures by 6 to 8 degree Celsius in Inner Mongolia’s east and most eastern coastal areas over the coming two days.



Temperatures suddenly dropped to minus 13 degrees in Baotou City of Inner Mongolia Friday morning. Heavy snow forced major highways to shut down, leaving only national highway 110 working, but with constant slowdowns due to ice.

All transportation out of the city’s two major long-distance bus stations were cancelled. The Local meteorological department predicts more snow will hit central and eastern Inner Mongolia, with temperatures predicted to drop by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Snow also hit Beijing early Sunday. This is the first snowfall of the winter in the capital city, which brought low temperatures.

- CCTV