Winter Spell: Beijing records longest cold wave since 1951

China’s capital Beijng is experiencing extreme winters. The capital city has marked the record of facing the most prolonged cold wave since 1951. The temperature finally rose above zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday afternoon at the Beijing’s Nanjiao weather station after many days, as reported by the Chinese local media, Beijing Daily.

“Since the temperature first dropped to below zero degrees on December 11, the temperature had remained below that line for more than 300 hours,” Beijing Daily wrote. CNN reported that most of the China was covered in a blanket of cold wave that pushed the heat capacity of some cities in northern China to its limit in the month of December.

After the intense cold wave, Henan, a province in central China experienced various system failures. In Jiaozuo City, heating was temporarily disrupted due to a malfunction at the Wanfang power plant on Friday. Fortunately, the issue was resolved on Saturday, and heating is set to resume on Sunday night, as reported by the official city newspaper, Jiaozuo Daily.

On the other hand, Puyang and Pingdingshan (cities in province) have reduced heating in the majority of government buildings and state-owned enterprises since Friday. This decision aims to prioritize the limited heating resources for hospitals, schools, and residential buildings, as stated by the governments of the two cities. The persistent cold weather in Beijing, which began days ago, has also led to problems with the city’s metro system, as reported by CNN.

The city’s transportation authority informed that due to heavy snowfall, two trains collided on a metro line resulting in injuring hundreds of commuters. Dozens of people with fractured bones were rushed to the hospital in Beijing earlier this month. Additionally, the freezing temperatures also hampered rescue efforts as a deadly earthquake occurred this month in northwest Gansu province of China.